Naruto: The Unbreakable Bonds
by ultimatedbzmaniac
Summary: This AU story takes the series in a whole different direction, from beginning to end. Follow Naruto and all of his friends as this new take on the Naruto series expands, revealing all the new twists, turns and surprises this story has to offer. Friendships will be created, Love will bloom, hate will manifest, and bonds will be forged. Bonds so strong, that nothing can break them.
1. The Prologue

I don't own Naruto or Naruto shippuden, all rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. I also don't own the image cover of this story. This is an AU Story, so there will be many changes, and I can't list them all without giving away too much of the story. Let's just say this is a different direction that could have been taken with the Naruto series. Okay then, this is the Prologue, so please read, enjoy and review.

* * *

_It was almost pitch black out when the cry of a newborn baby boy, rang throughout the Hidden Leaf Village. The newborn wailed with all his lung power, for somewhere deep down, he knew that just moments ago the lives of his parents were lost. The baby boy had spiky blonde hair and a circular seal on his stomach, the seal itself was not meant for the boy, bu for what was inside the boy, the Nine Tailed Fox. His Parents were known as, Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze, and they were the ones who had sealed the Nine Tails within the boy. As the Fourth Hokage, Minato's obligation was to protect the people of the Hidden Leaf Village, at all costs. So He did the unthinkable and sacrificed his life, in order to seal the Nine Tailed Fox within his very own Son. This boy's name was, Naruto. __And little could anyone know just how big of an impact this boy would have upon the world._

* * *

Four Years Later...

Hiruzen Sarutobi, or as most call him the Third Hokage, sighed as he realized just how endless the paperwork would be. It was barely noon and there was already a mountain of it. He hasn't had a decent break within the last four years, mostly because of the ramifications of the Fourth's death, and the Son he left behind. Of course the fact that Naruto Uzumaki was Minato's son has been kept under wraps, that fact was only known to a handful of individuals, and every single one was a Shinobi. The Third Hokage sighed once more at the thought of Naruto, the boy was currently in an orphanage. No one would take the boy in, at least knowing that he held the Nine Tails within him. While few knew of Naruto's lineage, everyone in the village who wasn't below the age of sixteen knew what was inside Naruto. And a few people who were even younger knew of this as well. Mostly because it was hard to keep it a secret that dark fateful night.

And because Hiruzen has been so busy, he knew he couldn't take care of Naruto, so he had no choice but to put him in an orphanage. It wasn't very difficult to persuade them to let Naruto in, not if you were the Hokage that is. But Hiruzen had no idea what the orphanage was doing to Naruto, at that exact moment. Because if he did, then there would be pain, and perhaps even imprisonment.

* * *

Naruto couldn't fight back, as he was literally pushed out the back door of the orphanage. He turned to face the back entrance so as to reenter the establishment, but the door was slammed in his face. They had said that he was four now and could hold his own, and kicked him out, with nothing but the clothes on his back. To be more exact, he was wearing blue sandals, black pants, and a white short sleeve shirt, with the Uzumaki symbol on the front. He felt like crying, he didn't know where to go or what to do. The people in the orphanage had always treated him rudly, ignored him, picked on him, but at least he had a bed and three meals a day. Naruto never understood why they were always so mean, but he didn't ever think they'd go as far as kicking him out. He knew that everyone in the orphanage worked hard to provide food and beds, but he didn't know how he was supposed to do the same.

He couldn't even think of anyone who actually liked him enough to hire him, let alone someone who had work he could actually do. With all of this in mind Naruto couldn't help but start to cry. As the tears descended his face, he turned away from the orphanage and began to walk out of the alley the back entrance was in. Naruto's head was down, so he didn't notice that he was about to walk right into someone, until he actually did.

* * *

Sasuke couldn't help but smile as he walked alongside his older brother, Itachi. They were supposed to head to the market and pick a few things up for their Mother so she could make dinner later that day. Sasuke didn't get to spend much time with Itachi, because he was almost always busy with training, or missions, so he was glad their Mother always sent them to the market together once every month. Itachi and Sasuke were currently in the middle of a conversation, when some kid bumped into Itachi. Both Sasuke's and Itachi's attention was on the blonde boy as he realized what had happened. Before the boy could wipe the tears from his face, both Itachi and Sasuke noticed them. As the boy wiped the tears from his face, he spoke, "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

Sasuke couldn't help but wonder what had the boy so upset, while Itachi had a pretty good hunch, because he recognized the boy as one Naruto Uzumaki, the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox. Itachi was the one who spoke next, "It's quite alright. But if you don't mind, I'd like to know why your out here all by yourself."

Now that Itachi mentioned it, Sasuke realized the boy was indeed all by himself, in a back alley no less. Sasuke couldn't help but wonder why, "Is he all alone? But if he was, then wouldn't he be inside the orphanage? And if he isn't all alone, where are his parents?"

That's when Sasuke realized that this back alley held the back entrance to the orphanage, and he couldn't help but let his thoughts roam.

* * *

Naruto wasn't sure if he should answer the older boy or not, but this was the nicest anyone had been to him today, so he spoke, "I..I'm out here because, because the...the..."

Naruto couldn't help it, he felt like breaking down, he could already feel the tears begin trickling down his face again. He didn't want to cry in front of the strangers who were before him, but he didn't know what to do.

* * *

As the boy began to choke up, Itachi's hutch was proven correct. The orphanage had indeed kicked him out, why else would he be so upset? As the boy's tears streamed down his face, Itachi crouched down to his level, so as to be face to face with the boy. Itachi didn't like to see people in pain, not one bit. So he did the one thing he could do, he pulled the boy into a hug, as he continued to cry. "It's alright, everything'll be okay."

Sasuke was a bit taken back, he rarely ever saw this side of Itachi, the part of him who loved to help people, the part that loathed the thought of others in pain, the part that hated violence. But this was the first time Sasuke had ever seen Itachi show such compassion to a complete and utter stranger. He couldn't help but wonder if Itachi knew something that he didn't about this boy.

* * *

Naruto was taken by surprise by the older boy's show of compassion, no one had ever hugged him before. Naruto couldn't help but cry even harder, as Itachi held him. He didn't know what he had done for this to happen, he just wished that whatever he did, he hadn't done it, so this wouldn't be happening. He didn't know if he had what it took to survive on his own.

* * *

Itachi wasn't sure what to do, he knew that the orphanage would be forced to take him back if he told the Hokage, but what good would that do? They'd just kick him out again, eventually. The Hokage himself was too busy to take care of Naruto, and no one else wanted to take him in. So it seemed to Itachi that he really only had two options, he could either leave Naruto alone out on the streets and report what he saw to the Hokage, or take him back to the Uchiha compound. There was no way in hell that the clan would accept Naruto into their estate, but Itachi did know that if he could get his Mother on his side then he, Sasuke and their mother could keep him a secret. And Itachi knew that his Mother wouldn't turn Naruto away, not with the promise she had made to his Mother. Itachi finally came to a decision, "That's that then. Naruto will have to come stay with us."

Of course what he said aloud wasn't the same as his thoughts, "You don't have a home, do you?"

The boy shook his head no as tears continued to slide down his face. Sasuke's first thought was proven correct, the boy was all alone. But he couldn't help but wonder, "Then why isn't he in the orphanage?"

Itachi was silent for a few moments, but he did speak again soon after, "Would you like a new one?"

Sasuke's eyes immediately shot over to Itachi, unsure of what he was asking, wondering if Itachi was about to offer what he thought he was going to offer.

* * *

Naruto was silent at the older boy's question, he wasn't sure what he meant by it. He couldn't help but wonder, "Would he help me find a new one?"

Naruto looked up at the older boy, tears blurring his vision and answered, his voice shaky, "Yes I would, very much so."

There was almost a full minute of silence after Naruto's answer, because of this Naruto couldn't help but wonder if he shouldn't have said that.

* * *

Itachi knew Naruto's answer before he even asked, but he couldn't help but wonder if this was a good idea. But he knew it was too late to back out now, besides he knew that no one else would offer Naruto this. So after a whole minute of silence, he finally spoke once more, "Then would you like to come live with my Brother and I?"

Sasuke had a suspicion Itachi was going to ask the boy this, but it still surprised him nonetheless. Sasuke was proud to be an Uchiha, but he knew that they could be really nasty if they wanted to, Resentful as well. But Sasuke also knew his older brother pretty well, he wouldn't just do this for no good reason. He was certain that Itachi knew something about this boy that he didn't, otherwise he wouldn't be offering to let the boy come stay with the Uchiha.

* * *

Naruto was shocked by the older boy's proposition, he wasn't sure what to say. But he knew that he couldn't let this pass him by, he needed somewhere to live. He doubted he could make it on his own. So he wiped most of the tears out of his eyes, and spoke, his voice still shaky, "Could I really?"

The older boy simply nodded his head. With confirmation, Naruto spoke one more, his voice still slightly shaky, "I'd like that very much."

* * *

Itachi smiled as Naruto agreed to come live with him and his little brother Sasuke. "Well I guess introductions are overdue then, my name is Itachi Uchiha. And this is my little brother, Sasuke Uchiha."

Itachi simply ruffled up Sasuke's hair as he introduced him. Sasuke was glad when he stopped, but he hadn't really tried to fight him off, he was still confused. The only way he would understand is if he could get Itachi to tell him, he was pretty sure of that. Sasuke listened as the boy replied to Itachi's statement by giving his name, the shake in his voice almost all gone, "I...I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I...it's nice to meet you."

Sasuke felt as if he had heard the name before, it seemed familiar for some reason, but he couldn't quite remember where he had heard it from. And before he could think over it, Itachi spoke once more, "Alright then Naruto, come with us. We have some shopping to do, but after we're done we'll head home, okay?"

* * *

Naruto couldn't help but like Itachi, the older boy had a comforting smile and a warm presence, "O..okay."

Itachi then began leading the way to the market.

* * *

As soon as Itachi, Naruto and Sasuke entered the market district, all eyes were on the three. But most of the focus was upon Naruto. Sasuke noticed that many of the eyes held resentment within, while others held fear. And Sasuke's head was spinning while he tried to figure out why, no one acted like this when it was just Itachi and him, so it had to have something to do with Naruto. But Sasuke couldn't help but wonder, "What could all these adults have against a kid my age? It just doesn't make any sense."

Sasuke then looked over to Naruto, who seemed to noticed the stares very much, as he seemed to be on the brink of tears again. It just kept getting more and more confusing to the young Uchiha. But the most confusing event of the day had yet to come.

* * *

It happened when Naruto entered a small store ahead of Itachi and Sasuke. The store clerk, unbeknownst to the company Naruto had with him, spoke with anger and disgust, "What are you doing in here? Get out you little..brat!"

To Sasuke the word seemed forced, as if the man had wanted to say something else. While to Itachi it was all too clear what the man had actually wanted to say, so he was quick to turn to the store clerk, a frown upon his face as he spoke, "The boy's name is Naruto, and he's with us."

The store clerk was surprised at this, he would never have expected two of the Uchiha clan to be anywhere near Naruto, let alone accompanying him somewhere. But nevertheless the store clerk stayed silent after Itachi's remark, he did not want to lose business from the Uchiha, or even worse have their wrath brought down upon him. So Naruto was left alone inside the store and outside as well, of course that didn't stop people from looking at him with icy stares.

* * *

Sakura Haruno couldn't help but feel exposed, as the red ribbon in her hair kept her forehead uncovered. She had received the ribbon from her only friend, Ino Yamanaka. Said friend was walking alongside Sakura, both of them on their way to the park. Ino was smiling, glad that she had gotten her pink haired friend to finally expose her forehead. The reason why she was unwilling to do so, was because all of the other girls picked on her, saying it was huge, weird and ugly. Sakura on the other hand wished that her blonde haired friend hadn't talked her into it, still regretting the choice. Fearing the teasing she was most likely to receive once they arrived at the park.

* * *

Shino Aburame refused to look away, or let his focus falter for even a second, as his Father explained their family history to him

* * *

Kiba Inuzuka couldn't tear his eyes away from a light sparring match between his Mother and his Sister, as they and their Canine partners battled.

* * *

Tenten giggled as she continued to play with several other girls in the park, having a good time with her friends.

* * *

Choji Akimichi sighed as he had just finished explaining to his Father that kids were picking on him because of his weight, and that they had called the Akimichi clan stupid. His Father replied by reassuring Choji that he had a good heart, and that one day he would have a group of friends who were good to him, and appreciated his kind heart. That's when Shikamaru Nara walked up onto the rooftop, where he got Choji to move over so that he could lie down in his favorite spot and watch clouds. He asked Choji to join him, and he did, sharing his snacks with him. "Man, this is the life. Sitting back, watching clouds and eating chips."

Choji couldn't help but agree, "Yeah."

Choji's father, Choza couldn't help but smile at the scene.

* * *

Rock Lee couldn't hold his excitement in, in just one years time he would be allowed to enroll within the Ninja Academy. He found it absolutely thrilling, the fact was that it literally couldn't come too soon for Lee.

* * *

Neji Hyuga smiled as he played with several other Branch members of the Hyuga clan. Neji's father, Hizashi watched from afar as his boy played with other Branch members. Each one of them held a large mark on their foreheads, they all had the Caged Bird Seal upon their foreheads. Of course all of the kids had the seals covered with something, some with hats, some with bandages, and others with bandannas. The seal was given to every branch member of the Hyuga clan, the seal served two main purposes. The first was to keep the clan's Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan, away from outsiders. Whenever someone with the seal dies, the seal activates and destroy's the person's eyes. The second reason is so that the main Hyuga members can keep the branch members in line. All it would take was a single, secret hand sign, and then a main branch member can cause a side branch member severe pain, and even death.

The seal was also seen as shameful, that is why branch members covered it up. Hizashi had to use all the will power within him to keep himself from crying at the thought of his son having to go through life like this.

* * *

Hinata Hyuga stood hiding behind a wall, peaking out at the branch member children. Unlike all of them, she was apart of the Main house, and has not received the Caged Bird Seal. She wanted to play with them, but the last time she approached a branch member they appeared scared and alert, making sure as to be as respectful as possible. All of the fun always stopped when she came around, so she found it best not to bother them anymore. But she couldn't help but yearn to play with the other children, all it ever was with her father, Hiashi Hyuga, was training so as to be an astute and promising Heiress to the Hyuga family. She was nothing short of lonely.

* * *

Soon enough Itachi and Sasuke had finished their shopping and were on their way home, Naruto accompanying them. But when they reached the gate of the Uchiha compound, Itachi struck up a conversation with the two guards so as to draw their attention from Sasuke and Naruto. This allowed Sasuke to sneak Naruto into the compound, when Itachi first told him that he would have to do this he was appalled, but Itachi reminded Sasuke that Naruto had nowhere to go and no one to rely on, so he agreed. Itachi had already explained that their Mother would have no qualms with Naruto living with them, so Sasuke was to sneak Naruto into his own room. Itachi also explained to Sasuke that their Father would be down right against any mention of Naruto being around any Uchiha once so ever, and this of course worried Sasuke greatly. He wanted nothing more than for his Father to accept him as an individual, for he was always standing within Itachi's ever reaching shadow, unnoticed by anyone as anything but the Uchiha prodigy's little brother.

* * *

But nevertheless he did as Itachi said and managed to sneak Naruto into their house, barely. Now all they had to do was cross the kitchen without being seen. Sasuke turned to Naruto and spoke, "Okay we're almost to my room, now all we have to do is get to it before anyone notices you. On the count of three we're both gonna make a dash for it, alright?"

"B...but won't you get in trouble for running in the house?"

"Yeah, but that's a lot easier to handle then explaining to my parents why your here, and convincing them to let you stay."

"Alright then."

"Good, now one...two...three!"

Sasuke and Naruto both quickly dashed forward, hoping to get through the kitchen quick enough so that no one could see, unfortunately it didn't go as planned. In mid dash Sasuke's mother Mikoto Uchiha noticed both Naruto and Sasuke, but because Naruto was behind Sasuke it took her more than a moment to realize who it was. "Sasuke you know your not supposed to run in the house. And you still have your shoes on..wait, who's that behind you?"

Mikoto had to stifle a gasp as she realized who it was, she couldn't help but think, "He already resembles his Father, I can't believe how much they look alike already."

Naruto couldn't help but cringe at her gasp, not many people reacted to his presence like that, but enough had for him to guess what she was thinking. Sasuke didn't know what to do, fortunately it was only his Mother who had seen Naruto, and Itachi had told him that she would accept Naruto into their home. But right now that didn't seem like it was going to happen, Sasuke wished he knew what to say, but he couldn't think of a single word.

* * *

The Third Hokage scowled as he finished reading over the daily report on Naruto's status, throughout the entire thing it was 'Demon this...', 'Monster that...'.

If Hiruzen didn't know better, he would have assumed the local Orphanage was trying to antagonize him. His train of thought was not good for the person who wrote the report, "I'll need his name, his address, his work schedule, and there will be a ton of paper work, but if he continues to call Naruto by these names, he will be imprisoned."

Hiruzen sighed, he was too old for this job and he knew it. Unfortunately though, there was no one he believed to be a adequate successor, at least no one that lived within the village. But before this train of thought could go too far, there was another Jonin entering the Hokage's office with a big stack of paperwork, which immediately required Hiruzen's attention.

* * *

Mikoto noticed the cringe Naruto gave, and the speechlessness of both of the young boys. She pulled herself together, but before she could speak Itachi walked into the room. He managed to asses the situation within seconds, as he began to speak, "So you recognize Naruto then, right Mother?"

Sasuke was confused by Itachi's comment, this left him wondering, "Mom doesn't know Naruto, does she?"

Mikoto simply nodded at her eldest's question, before speaking, "Why have your brought him here?"

Itachi's gaze hardened at that, "Because he has nowhere else to go."

"I though the orphanage-"

Itachi answered her question before she could finish asking it, "They...kicked him out it seems."

Sasuke then understood why Naruto was all alone, but what he couldn't help but be curious about was why the orphanage had kicked him out. Naruto was confused himself, he couldn't help but wonder, "They know me, but they don't seem like the Villagers. I'm so confused."

"I see, so you brought him here when you found him then?"

"Yes, it seems that he wasn't out there for five minutes before Sasuke and I stumbled across him."

"That's good, but do you think bringing him here is the best idea?"

"He's got nowhere else to go, Mother."

"Right, well then I guess it's settled."

Itachi and Mikoto both turned towards Naruto and Sasuke, as Mikoto crouched down so as to be eye level with Naruto himself. Then she spoke, "Well then, how would you like to live here, Naruto?"


	2. Naruto's First Friend

Alright I got a guest review, and whoever gave it made a good point. He/She said that it seemed as if I had picked the characters at random, because they weren't really woven into the chapter well. And I see that now, but know that all of the characters showed in the last chapter, as well as a few others, are extremely important to the story. They were there for a reason. And I thank whoever gave this review and brought this fact to my attention, I appreciate your help greatly. Anyway, here's the first chapter, I hope you all read, enjoy and review.

* * *

Three Months Later...

Sasuke was delighted that it was once again time to head out into the village, while Naruto on the other hand was nervous. In a matter of minutes both young boys would be following Itachi out into the village and into the market district to pick up the usual ingredients Mikoto requested every month. Naruto always went so as to lessen the chances of him getting caught. Mikoto was busy with housework so Naruto would have to look after himself, and with the clan head, Sasuke's and Itachi's father, Fugaku Uchiha out and about he was sure to be spotted. So Sasuke's and Itachi's monthly tradition, became Naruto's monthly tradition as well. Sasuke didn't mind too much though, even though this was usually the only time he got to spend with Itachi. Naruto never really intruder upon their conversations, and when he did it never seemed to bother either Uchiha. The one and only set back was the Villagers, not only did they always gawk at Naruto with hateful eyes, when he was alone they tended to get violent.

So Itachi made sure to never leave Naruto alone, either he or Sasuke were to be within a ten foot radius of Naruto at all times when outside the Uchiha compound. This also didn't seem to affect Sasuke, for he and Naruto had seemingly become friends over the last three months, they enjoyed each other's company. But there was another variable to it all as well, since the Villagers didn't see Naruto more than five or six times a month, the tension when Naruto showed up was always so thick it was almost if it could suffocate someone. Of course because of the company Naruto kept, Sasuke and Itachi namely, no one dared to lash out violently towards the four year old boy. This of course was a double edged sword, because there was always eye witness accounts that Naruto was hanging around the Uchiha. But fortunately, because of Itachi's connections within the ANBU, most of these reports were deemed fake, labeled invalid, or they ended up lost or destroyed, and some never made it past the ANBU member it was reported to.

Itachi wouldn't be able to keep it up forever though, he couldn't get all of the ANBU to cooperate with him. And as soon as one of the ANBU members who didn't trust him, or one of the ones that was too stubborn to fro their own good found out about Naruto's proximity to the Uchiha, they were sure to report it to the Hokage. Worst case scenario meant the clan found out about Naruto's presence within their compound. Best case scenario they'd have a little help from the Hokage every now and then so as to keep the fact that Naruto was staying with the Uchiha a secret. But it honestly wasn't worth the risk, at least in Itachi's mind so he did the best he could with what he had.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke walked two paces behind Itachi, as they entered the market district. As usual all eyes were on the three, and soon enough all stares were directed at Naruto solely. That's when the whispers started, Sasuke couldn't hear them, but Naruto damn well could. Itachi could hear them as well. Last month was when the whispering started, when it had Naruto felt like breaking down right there in the middle of the market district. He wasn't faring too well this time either, as tears prickled out of the sides of his eyes, threatening to begin falling. That's when Itachi spoke, "Naruto, it seems that Mother gave Sasuke and I a little more Ryo than is needed to get her usual ingredients. So would you like anything special, say a certain side dish to go along with dinner, or perhaps an after dinner sweet?"

When Itachi spoke, Naruto couldn't help but pay attention to him. It was a habit he had picked up when it came to the Uchiha. Itachi, Sasuke and Mikoto took Naruto in, so he always made sure to listen to what they said, and do as they told him to. As Itachi finished speaking, Naruto realized something, the more he focused on Itachi's words, the less he was able to hear the whispers. If he had another noise to focus on, he could drown out the whispers. A small smile crossed Naruto's face as it dawned on him that Itachi was trying to distract him from the hurtful things the Villagers were whispering. "I can't really think of anything, could you pick one out for me?"

Itachi couldn't help but smile as he answered the young boy, "Sure."

Sasuke was slightly confused by this, Itachi usually waited until he and the person he was going to speak to were in a secluded space before he actually struck up a conversation. Sasuke couldn't help but wonder, "Why would Itachi speak so freely in a public area like this?"

Itachi spoke once more, "Sasuke, how is your Shuriken training coming along?"

Sasuke was slightly taken back Itachi's question, he didn't really ask about that sort of stuff except for during rare circumstances. But nevertheless Sasuke answered his older Brother, "S..slowly, I'm nowhere near the level you were when you were my age."

Itachi's smile shrunk down to almost nothing at that, "You shouldn't worry about being as good as I was, what you should be worrying about is making sure that you get in some practice every day, and to make sure that you strive to get a little better at it each time."

"O..of course, Brother."

Luckily no more conversation was needed, as the three entered a small shop which held many meal ingredients.

* * *

By the time they had everything to go, there was a line at the clerk's small wooden desk. Itachi knew these lines could last for literally seconds, all the way up to hours. It just depended if people were trying to haggle or not, as well if it was a slow day or not. And unfortunately the line didn't seem to be going anywhere for at least several minutes. And to make matters worse, it seemed that all of the patrons had taken notice of Naruto. Naruto couldn't resist the urge to hide himself behind the two Uchiha when everyone's eyes had drifted to him. Itachi sighed as he figured they wouldn't move very fast if Naruto was there, plus it seemed their stares were unnerving the young boy. So he suggested something, "Sasuke, why don't you take Naruto and go to the park? You two can play while I deal with this line, alright?"

Was it the best idea, no. But to Itachi it was better than letting the usual shopping run on for over an hour, and it was better than letting Naruto suffer those icy stares where he had no where to run to. Plus it was almost a guarantee that if Sasuke was near Naruto, then no one would attack him, lest they risk the wrath of the Uchiha.

Sasuke wasn't so sure it was a great idea, Itachi still refused to tell him why every adult acted like this around him, and Sasuke wasn't too sure about being alone with Naruto and no one to keep the Villagers away. Sasuke knew the Uchiha name carried weight, but this kind of situation still worried him. But nevertheless Itachi seemed like he knew what he was saying, so against his better judgement, Sasuke agreed and led Naruto out of the store.

* * *

Naruto hadn't put up any resistance when Sasuke insisted that they go to the park, he had only been once and only for a few minutes, so he honestly didn't know what to expect. So within a matter of minutes the young Uchiha had led Naruto into the park, and it was quite busy so they wouldn't be alone. Both Naruto and Sasuke couldn't help but wonder if that was a good thing or not. Luckily though, there were almost no adults around, so to Naruto that was a plus at least. In front of Naruto and Sasuke were several groups of kids, including one containing a whole gaggle of nothing but girls. Nothing really out of the ordinary. But Naruto noticed one individual in particular that Sasuke didn't. She was far from the groups of kids, off in the distance, holding a woman's hand, who was most likely her mother. From this distance, Naruto couldn't really make out what the Girl looked like. But the fact of the matter was, that the girl intrigued Naruto.

Naruto couldn't help but wonder, "Why isn't she playing with the other kids?"

Sasuke on the other hand, just wasn't sure what to do at the moment. He needed to know if the kids would act like the adults were, and stare at Naruto with disdain before he decided on anything. Before he could think further on it though, he couldn't help but notice one Girl who seemed to be on the brink of tears. He spotted Her easily because of her bright pink hair, it seemed that she was quite upset over something, and before he knew it he was taking off in the direction of the gaggle of girls.

* * *

Naruto however did not follow, he had to know why the Girl he saw off in the distance wasn't playing with the other kids, his curiosity easily got the better of him. So as Sasuke took off towards the big group of girls, Naruto was slowly making his way towards the little Girl who stood by her Mother's side. Naruto did his best to try and make it seem as if he was wandering about, like he didn't really have a destination in mind, and the little Girl for the most part bought it, her Mother however did not.

* * *

Hinata Hyuga stood off in the distance, wearing a pink kimono with some flower designs on it, holding her Mother's hand. She looked on as kids had fun as they played tag, hide and seek, and some even played ninja. But she failed to notice a certain Boy with blonde hair, trying to approach her, while trying to make it seem as if he wasn't. Hinata's mother on the other hand, Heather Hyuga, did notice. She knew who the boy was and what was inside of him, however she held no ill will against him. She wasn't sure why he was approaching her Daughter, however she would see what he was up to before she did anything.

* * *

Naruto was soon close enough to drop the act, as he finally began making his way to the Girl directly. The closer he got, the slower his pace became, he was nervous, but not enough to chicken out. He wanted to know why she wasn't playing with the other kids. So he was going to try his best to find out. Soon he was standing in front of the Girl and her Mother, they both had pale white skin, and white milky eyes. They also both had raven black hair, although the Woman's hair was just a tad darker than the little Girl's. They looked quite alike, except for their hair length, and the color of their clothes. The little Girl's hair was short, almost boy like, while the Mother's was long and wavy. They both had on kimonos, and they both had the same flower design, however the Kimonos were different colors. Pink for the little Girl, and white for the Woman beside her.

Naruto wasn't silent for long, "Hey there, what's your name?"

Naruto had done his best not to hesitate, he had succeeded, barely. He just didn't want anyone his age to treat him like most adults did.

* * *

Hinata was slow to spot the blonde Boy, not noticing him until he was a mere ten feet away, approaching her directly. When she did take notice of him, she couldn't take her eyes off him. His eyes were so beautiful and full of light, she hadn't ever seen anything like them before. She had only ever known the eyes of disappointment. His hair was unkempt, lacking the tidiness all Hyuga kept, and then there were the marks on his face, they looked like whiskers. And just like his eyes, she had never seen anything like them before. By the time Hinata had taken this all in, the Boy was only a foot away from her. When she realized this, the Boy spoke, asking for her name. Hinata almost jumped at the sound of his voice, she quickly tried to straighten up, as she answer the Boy. "I...I am H...Hinata H...Hyuga."

Heather knew all too well why Hinata was trying to look proper as she answered the young Boy. The Hyuga clan would have found both young children's actions as rude and disrespectful. You always gave your name, before asking another's. And you always focused intently on the person who was speaking to you, while you stood erect, and answered their question with proper speech. Hinata however is a very shy and self conscious person, which at times can cause her to stutter. When this problem first came up, the Hyuga's were very uneasy about it. But unlike most people, stuttering wasn't some tic that couldn't be fixed for Hinata, she was just very hesitant in her speech. Which made it seem as if she was stuttering. Heather was beyond relieved when they had figured that out.

Heather was curious as to what Naruto was up to, she wondered if he was going to ask Hinata to play. At that thought Heather almost smiled, she hoped he did, it would be good for Hinata if she finally made a friend.

* * *

Way off from Naruto's position, was Sasuke, making his way towards the pink haired little Girl. Sasuke slowed his pace, as he passed the big group of girls, and realized that beside the Girl who was crying, was another little Girl with blonde hair, and she seemed to be trying to comfort the one with pink hair. When he was close enough to the two, he spoke, "Are you two all right?"

The one with blonde hair turned quickly, speaking before she even saw Sasuke, "What's it to you!?"

When she did see Sasuke though, she couldn't help but gasp slightly. This got the attention of her pink haired friend, who then looked up at Sasuke as well, tears still in her eyes. Her eyes visibly widened when she saw Sasuke, apparently shocked by his appearance too. Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little self conscious at that moment, but nevertheless he pushed it away as he spoke once more, "I just wanted to see if you two were okay, because she seems pretty upset."

He gestured to the pink haired Girl as he said this.

* * *

When Ino laid eyes on the Boy who was disturbing her and Sakura, she couldn't help but gasp. She also couldn't help but think, "He's so...so gorgeous!"

When Sakura's eyes fell to the raven haired Boy she definitely agreed with Ino, even though neither knew it, "He's very handsome."

Once the Boy spoke again Ino replied, although kinder this time. "Oh don't worry about her, she's fine. Right Sakura?"

Ino looked over at Sakura as she asked this, and Sakura shyly nodded her head and wiped the tears from her eyes, as she spoke, "Yeah, I'm okay."

Ino then turned back to the Boy as she spoke once more, "Anyway, I'm Ino Yamanaka, and this here is Sakura Haruno."

The Boy then gave his name also, "I am Sasuke Uchiha, and it is nice to meet you both."

Sakura couldn't help but be taken surprise by this, she knew who the Uchiha were, her Father had told her about them. Ino's eyes widened at this one, "Not only is he gorgeous, he's also from a prestigious clan!"

* * *

Sasuke smiled after he introduced himself, still wondering what could have made Sakura so upset. He was curious, so he asked, "If you don't mind, can you tell me why you were crying?"

Sakura looked down at the ground as Sasuke asked this, and Ino scowled. Before Sasuke had a chance to back track to a better subject, Ino answered his question, "Just a bunch of stupid girls picking on her, because the size of her forehead. They keep telling her that it's so massive, it's like a billboard."

Sasuke couldn't help but be confused at that statement, there was a ribbon in Sakura's hair keeping it from hiding her forehead, so Sasuke could see it quite clearly. And it didn't seem any bigger than his forehead. "That's strange, because your forehead doesn't seem any bigger than mine."

Sakura looked up at Sasuke in surprise as he said this, she was very touched by his words. Ino couldn't help but smile at Sakura's reaction, "See, I told ya! Your forehead isn't abnormal at all!"

A small smile formed on Sakura's face, as she turned to Ino and spoke, "I..I guess your right."

* * *

That's when Ino noticed that the big group of girls that was picking on Sakura, were now all looking towards her, Sakura and Sasuke. They seemed mesmerized by the mere sight of Sasuke. Ino scowled at that, she already resented these girls enough, and now it seemed as if they were going to start fawning over Sasuke, which would just down right make Ino hate them. Sakura couldn't help but take notice as well, and the stare all of the girls were giving Sasuke made her uneasy.

Sasuke however, failed to notice the stares, for his back was to all of them.

* * *

Sasuke's smile grew a bit when Ino continued to cheer her friend up, it was a nice sight. And that was when Sasuke realized something, Naruto wasn't here by his side, Sasuke quickly began looking around, frantically trying to find Naruto with his eyes. If he failed to help Naruto, Itachi would be so disappointed in him, and he'd be letting a friend down. Luckily, before Sasuke could freak out, he spotted Naruto off in the distance, talking to what appeared to be a little Girl and her Mother. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief at that. "Sorry Sakura, Ino, but I have to go. Maybe I'll see you two around some time."

Ino and Sakura were indeed disappointed Sasuke wasn't going to hang around, but they still waved, Ino also called out as she waved, "I sure hope so!"

Sakura however was content with just the wave goodbye.

* * *

When the Girl revealed her name, Naruto almost smiled. "That's a pretty name. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and it's nice to meet you."

Hinata couldn't help but blush at Naruto's comment, "I...it's nice t...to m..meet you t...too."

Naruto did smile at that though, he was glad someone was happy to meet him for once. Naruto was still curious as to why Hinata wasn't playing with the other kids though, so he asked, "If you don't mind me asking, why aren't you playing with any of the other kids?"

"I...I...I um..."

Heather was quick to flip the question around so as to help her Daughter, "Why aren't you?"

Naruto's smile faltered and almost disappeared completely at that question, but nevertheless he answered it, "Well, kids my age don't really like to play with me. So I usually have to play by myself."

* * *

Heather felt a pang of guilt at Naruto's answer, she had just been trying to help her Daughter, she hadn't meant to hurt Naruto's feelings. While Hinata on the other hand stared at Naruto in disbelief, "Is he like...me?"

Hinata felt compelled to answer the question as that thought entered her head, "I...I have t...th...the same problem. N...nobody really w..w..wants to p..play with m..me ei..either."

That's when Naruto asked another question, "So you don't have any friends?"

Hinata looked towards the ground when he asked that, but she did answer, "N..no I don't."

* * *

At Hinata's answer, Naruto couldn't help but wonder, "Is she like...me?"

Naruto's smile was gone, as he spoke once more, "Yeah, me neither."

Several seconds of silence passed before someone spoke again, it was Naruto once more, "Then do you think that we could, maybe be friends?"

Hinata's head shot up at that, as her eyes visibly widened, "Y..you w..wa...want to b...be f...fr...fri...friends? With m..m...me?"

"Yeah, I could be your first friend, and you could be my first friend. So we could both finally have a friend. So, can we be friends?"

Hinata wasn't hesitant to nod her head, "Yeah, I...I would l...li...like that very m..much."

Naruto cracked the biggest smile he had ever had as Hinata agreed to be his friend. At that sight, Hinata couldn't help but smile as well.

* * *

Heather gave a small smile along with them. Somewhere during their conversation, it seemed as though they had forgotten about her. She didn't mind though, she was just glad that her Daughter had finally found a friend. And it seemed that Naruto had as well. Her attention was quickly pulled to the Boy who was approaching fast, she couldn't help but wonder what he wanted.

* * *

Sasuke was only fifteen feet away from Naruto and the two strangers he was talking to, he however did not slow his pace. He was soon a mere three feet from Naruto, and up close Sasuke recognized the two strangers to be Hyuga's. Both Hyuga's eyes were on Sasuke, Naruto noticing this turned around to see what they were looking at. When Naruto saw Sasuke, he spoke, "Oh there you are Sasuke. Sasuke I want you to meet my first friend ever, Hinata! And this is Hinata's Mom."

Naruto gestured to the two individually, as he spoke. Sasuke then realized Naruto didn't think of him as a friend, he would have to change that. But Sasuke had to push that to the side at the current moment, he wasn't too sure about the situation. Before he could speak however, someone else did. "There you are Sasuke, Naruto."

Both Naruto and Sasuke turned towards the source of the voice, both knowing who it was going to be. As the two laid their eyes on Itachi, he spoke once more as he slightly bowed, "I apologize for any annoyance these two have caused you, Lady Heather Hyuga, and Lady Hinata Hyuga."

Heather waved Itachi off as she spoke, "No need to apologize, it seems as if Hinata and Naruto have become friends. So these two have done nothing wrong."

"Of course. Now then, Naruto, Sasuke, come along. The shopping is done and we must return home."

"Yeah."

"Alright."

Naruto and Sasuke then began to follow Itachi, as Hinata and Heather watched the three leave.


	3. A True Friend?

Hey there...anyone who's actually reading this, this chapters done, although that's kind of obvious. Oh and just so everyone knows, I'm going to try and update at least four times a month. So four chapters a month, sounds reasonable to me. What do you Guys think? If anyone's even reading this that is. If their not, well then I guess I'm talking to myself, or writing to myself, depends on how you look at it really. Looks like I'm rambling, I tend to do that, so if anyone is reading, better get used to it. Anyway, here's the second chapter, I hope you all read, enjoy and review.

* * *

It had been three days since Naruto had unknowingly made it apparent that he didn't think of Sasuke as a friend. Ever since Sasuke has been confused, he didn't understand why they weren't friends. They had known each other for a little over three months, and they were almost always around each other. Itachi was busy in the village at the time, so Sasuke only had one person he could talk to, and that was his Mother. So when the first chance showed itself, Sasuke made sure he was alone with his Mother, so he could ask her about what was on his mind.

"So Sasuke, what is it you wanted to ask me?"

Sasuke wasn't sure how to phrase the question, but he did his best, "Mom what does it mean to have a friend exactly?"

Mikoto was quite taken back by her youngest Son's question, it was in no way the easiest question to answer. And she couldn't help but wonder what had brought this on, but nevertheless she did her best to answer his question. "Well a true friend is always there for you, they are with you through the good and the bad, through thick and thin. They accept you for who you are, no matter what. Their there to comfort you when your upset, their there to encourage you when your doubting yourself, and most importantly their there to make you understand that your not alone, that you can always count on them."

To say Sasuke was overwhelmed by his Mother's answer would be an understatement, it took him several moments to take it all in. But when he was sure he understood everything, he spoke once more, "Mom, why doesn't Naruto think of me as a friend?"

That's when Mikoto understood what was going on, she gave a small smile and then spoke, "So that's what this is about. Sasuke, Naruto has lived with us for about three months, and most of the time he has been hidden in your room, with you there to help him stay hidden. He most likely doesn't think of you as a friend, because you two have been thrown together out of the blue. Plus whenever you have free time, your chasing after your older Brother, or training, which means Naruto can't help, without be caught that is. The only time you two spend together is time when neither of you have a choice about what your going to do. That combined with the way he was treated at the orphanage, he most likely thinks that you think of him as an annoyance. So you'll have to make it apparent to him, that you think of him as a friend. And trust me Sasuke, he'll be very happy about that. For some people, Naruto especially, a true friend can even be their family when they have none."

Once more Sasuke was silent for several long moments, trying to take in and understand everything his Mother was saying. Soon he nodded his head, saying, "Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks Mom."

Mikoto's smile grew at that, "Of course Sasuke, now I think you should go and make Naruto understand that your his friend."

Sasuke smiled as his Mother basically read his mind, "That's what I had planned."

* * *

Naruto was in his usual spot, sitting in a corner of Sasuke's room. When he wasn't outside, he was in here. This was the best place to hide, because Sasuke's father Fugaku didn't really check on him, he was always busy with clan business or talking with Itachi, so he never really had much time for Sasuke. Of course Naruto couldn't relate, he had no Father to speak of. It still seemed a bit unfair to him though. Before his train of thought could go farther on that track, the door that led into the room was opened, and Sasuke entered, closing the door behind himself. Naruto's eyes were on Sasuke as soon as he entered the room, usually when he left he didn't come back for at least an hour. So Naruto couldn't help but wonder why he had come back so soon. Sasuke turned to Naruto and spoke, "Hey, Naruto?"

Sasuke sounded different from usual, Naruto was growing curious. "Yeah?"

"You know that we're friends, right?"

Naruto's eyes widened slightly at that, as he got to his feet he spoke, "What?"

"We're friends, or at least I thought we were. I had a talk with my Mom and...well she told me exactly what it meant to be a true friend. So I guess I can understand why you don't think of me as a friend. But, I'd like to be your friend. I wouldn't be your first friend, but you'd be mine. Because of all the attention my Brother gets, no one really notices me as an individual, so I've never really had a real friend before. And I know you've had it a lot rougher than me, so these kinds of small problems don't really register with you. So I'm going to do my best to push past them, and help you as best I can. Because I really want to be your friend, I want to be a true friend. So Naruto, are we friends?"

Sasuke put his left hand forward as he finished. Naruto could see how sincere Sasuke was being, and how he was trying his best to find the right things to say, and it touched the young blonde Boy. So when Sasuke put his left hand forward, Naruto felt like he could cry, but no tears came as he reached forward with his right hand, and shook Sasuke's hand. "Yeah, we're friends."

Naruto and Sasuke both couldn't help but smile at that.

* * *

Less than two hours later Naruto and Sasuke had snuck out of the Uchiha compound, quite successfully. They didn't do this too often, but every once in a while they got out and wandered around the village. This was the fourth time they had done it. They didn't spend more than three hours out by themselves though, just to be on the safe side. They never really had a destination in mind, and this time was no different. Of course there was always the chance of complications during this free roaming, such as running into too many Villagers. Which was about to happen, Naruto and Sasuke had already realized this. So they quickly began looking for a place to hide. There weren't really any back alleys they could slip into, and there wasn't really anything they could hide behind. But, as Sasuke noticed, there was a staircase that would lead up to the rooftop of a building. While not the most subtle, as long as the Villagers didn't follow everything would be okay.

So Naruto and Sasuke quickly ascended the staircase, and soon found themselves on the rooftop of a building. The building wasn't anything special really, just a plain, ordinary structure. But Sasuke and Naruto didn't know who was on the rooftop, they weren't really hidden though, the two boys had just failed to notice them was all. They however would notice them soon, because they made themselves known. "Hey, what do you two think your doing up here?"

The voice of whoever was speaking wasn't exactly blaring with emotion, it was almost monotone, except it held a bit of annoyance within it. The tone was of slight annoyance for sure, but the tone also had a lazy sense to it, which Naruto and Sasuke hadn't really heard before, so it was kind of weird. That didn't matter much though, Sasuke and Naruto both still turned around to see who it was that was speaking to them. However instead of seeing one person like they had expected, they saw two. The one to their left was thin, he had black hair, and he wore black slacks, black sandals, as well as a plain grey short sleeved t shirt. While the one to their right was chubby, had brown hair, had swirl marks on his cheeks, and wore blue sandals, black shorts, as well as a zipped up grey and black jacket.

Before Naruto or Sasuke could respond, the one with black hair spoke once more, "Are you guys gonna say why your up here or not?"

Naruto then tried to explain, without giving away the truth, "Well, you see, we kind of..."

Sasuke was quick to interrupt and give a flat out lie as an excuse, "We were just bored, so we decided to come up here and have a look around."

* * *

Shikamaru couldn't help but be skeptical of the answer the Boy on his right gave him, but he didn't really care about it much at all. But what was a little interesting was that the Boy in front of him was an Uchiha, that much was obvious by the symbol on the back of his black shirt. But this made Shikamaru wonder, "Then who's the blonde Kid? No Uchiha has ever had blonde hair, so it's blatantly obvious he's not an Uchiha. So, who is he?"

Of course this train of thought was cut short when the Kid in question spoke, "What about you Guys? Why are you two up here?"

Choji was the one to answer the Blonde's question, "We always come up here to watch the clouds. It's a good place to get away from everyone else, ya know?"

Shikamaru and Choji both noticed the change in posture the blonde Boy had when his question was answered. Shikamaru couldn't help but be curious, "Just what are these two up to?"

* * *

Naruto couldn't help but shift his standing, he could definitely relate to the brown haired Boy's answer. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

At that answer the Kid with black hair gave Naruto a weird look, and he and Sasuke both noticed it. But before either of them could bring it up, the Boy spoke, "Just who are you Guys?"

"Us? Well, I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"And I'm Sasuke Uchiha. So what about you two, what are your names?"

"I am Shikamaru Nara."

"And I am Choji Akimichi."

Shikamaru quickly spoke once more, "Since introductions are over with, mind telling us the real reason why you two are up here?"

Naruto and Sasuke both couldn't help but be surprised by that question, but nevertheless they figured it was best to tell the two the truth, if only some of it. Naruto was the one of the two to speak, "We just wanted to get away from some Villagers who were on our tail, that's all."

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow at that, "And what exactly did you two do that got them to chase you?"

Naruto couldn't help but rub the back of his head with his left hand in nervousness, "Well, you see it's kind of complicated. Whenever they see me, they tend to get a bit violent."

This seemingly did nothing for Shikamaru as he continued to look expectantly at Naruto and Sasuke, but neither of them knew exactly how to explain the situation. Still though Naruto tried again, "I don't really know why, and it's not like I can stop and ask them. It's just been that way ever since I was kicked out of..."

Naruto fell silent after that, not wanting to finish his sentence.

* * *

With everything Naruto said, Shikamaru couldn't help but grow curiouser and curiouser, these two were definitely intriguing, Naruto especially. There was silence among the four individuals for several long moments, before Choji broke it, "Well if that's the case, why don't you two stay up here and hang out with us for a while?"

Shikamaru noticed that Choji's words brought smiles to both Naruto's and Sasuke's faces, as they both nodded their heads in agreement. The two were quickly seated near Shikamaru and Choji, as they looked up and saw the clouds from the positions Choji and Shikamaru usually saw them from. That's when Choji offered them some chips, and they happily accepted them. Shikamaru and Choji both smiled as well, it seemed they had just made two new friends, even if they didn't know all about the mysterious circumstances they had met them under. Shikamaru couldn't help but think, "I could always find out the truth later."

About an hour and a half passed before Naruto and Sasuke parted ways with Shikamaru and Choji. Both Boys had smiles on their faces as they descended the staircase that led back down onto the ground. They couldn't help but be happy, they had just made two new friends. Unfortunately, these happy thoughts couldn't stay for long, because no more than five minutes after Naruto and Sasuke descended the stairs, a group of Villagers caught sight of them, and were soon after them.

Of course Shikamaru and Choji had no idea such a thing was happening below them, they were completely unaware of what was happening to their two new friends.

* * *

Itachi walked at a snails pace as he made his way through the village. He was lost in thought, he had much to think about, especially concerning Naruto, the Hyuga and the Uchiha. Naruto was close to the Uchiha without them knowing it, and if Naruto got close to the Hyuga as well things could get bad, especially if it was the main house he got close to. Itachi shook these thoughts from his head, if Naruto could make a true friend, no matter who it was Itachi was not going to interfere. However that didn't mean he couldn't take precautionary measures, just in case. After all, Itachi was a cautionary person. Itachi had no choice but to forget about his current train of thought as he saw his younger brother Sasuke, and Naruto dash past him, a group of Villagers on their tails. A scowl formed upon Itachi's face, Sasuke was with him, the Villagers were supposed to leave Naruto alone.

Itachi quickly set out after them, intent on making sure no harm came to Naruto or Sasuke.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke were running as fast as their small legs could carry them, they had to get away as quickly as possible. They had already been running for ten minutes straight, they had to lose them before they became too tired to run. They quickly swung over to their left and dashed down an alleyway, hoping to lose their pursuers as soon as possible. Their pursuers, a mob of Villagers, had trouble squeezing into the alleyway, but they managed it. So the chase wasn't going to stop there. A Villager called out as the mob drew closer to the two young boys, "Get back here ya little brat!"

Of course this was directed solely at Naruto, for reasons still unknown to the two young Boys. Naruto and Sasuke, hearing the voice closing in tried in vain to speed up. They couldn't go any faster unfortunately, which meant that they were soon to be caught. To make matters worse, Naruto and Sasuke soon found themselves at a dead end, and the only way out was through the mob of Villagers. They had no chance of escape on their own. Sasuke and Naruto both spun around and put their backs against the wall behind them, that was blocking their path. They didn't know what to do from here, they were helpless. Naruto and Sasuke watched as the Villagers came closer, and all of their eyes were on Naruto. Which meant Sasuke wasn't in much danger at all, when he realized this it made him feel sick to his stomach. "How could they hate him that much? He hasn't even done anything to these people."

The Villagers were a mere ten feet away from the Boys, but one Villager was just too impatient and charged forward on his own. He possessed no weapon, but he did not care, he just wanted to strike the Boy, who in his mind was nothing but the reincarnation of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox. "Take this you demonic Brat!"

Naruto flinched as the fist closed in, closing his eyes in the process. So he couldn't see what happened next, like everyone else did. Before the fist could connect, seemingly out of nowhere, someone appeared in between the Man and the Boys, and caught the man's fist with his right hand, he had a tight grip so the man couldn't pull away. Because he appeared so suddenly, it took a few moments for anyone to realize who it was, wondering if their eyes were playing tricks on them. It was at this moment when Naruto opened his eyes, wondering what had made the man stop. That's when Naruto, Sasuke and all of the Villagers focused on the man, and saw who he was. There standing in between Naruto and the belligerent man, keeping Naruto from harm, was none other than Itachi Uchiha. And he certainly didn't look happy, he had a rather large scowl on his face.

The group of Villagers almost flinched as he began to speak, "Your all despicable, chasing after a four year old Boy so that you could beat him. And for what?"

The belligerent Man who had one fist in Itachi's grip, then tried to speak, ignoring the decree the Third Hokage had made a little over four years ago. "Because he is-'

He however was cut off by Itachi, he looked into the Man's eyes with a glare that promised death, and all he had to do was say one more word and the promise would be fulfilled. "He is not what you think he is. He's a human being, just as we are. None of you have any right to do this, and if I hear or see any of you doing anything like this again, I will tell the Hokage, and there will be severe punishment."

With that the Villagers quickly dispersed, getting as far away from Naruto, Sasuke, and Itachi as they could. As for the belligerent Man who tried to strike Naruto, Itachi let him go as well. Itachi then turned to Naruto and Sasuke, and they had two different looks on their faces. Sasuke had a look of admiration, while Naruto had a look of gratitude. Itachi's scowl shrunk to almost nothing when he saw the looks on their faces. Itachi was going to have to have them tell him everything that happened. So he thought to himself, "Might as well make this as enjoyable as possible."

So he spoke, "How about you two tell me everything that happened over a bowl of Ramen at Ichiraku's, my treat of course."

Naruto's face lit up with excitement at that, and Sasuke didn't seem against the idea either. At this Itachi couldn't help but smile, Naruto had only eaten at Ichiraku's once before, and when he had he declared that his all time favorite food was Ramen, and that Ichiraku's made the best ramen in the world. And it seemed that Teuchi and his young nine year old daughter Ayame, had taken a liking to Naruto, much to the young Boy's delight. So Naruto and Sasuke followed Itachi out of the alley, and to the Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

* * *

Within an hour Naruto and Sasuke had explained everything that had happened to Itachi, and they had finished their bowls of Ramen. Once they had finished the three were on their way to the Uchiha compound, or that's what Sasuke and Naruto thought at least. They had been walking for a little over twenty minutes, and they were nowhere near the Uchiha compound, when Sasuke and Naruto realized that they weren't going to the compound. But neither of them said anything, until Itachi led them to a secluded area. Neither Naruto or Sasuke recognized it, it also looked to be abandoned. It wasn't really anything special, just a clearing with nothing in it, but two or three old and abandoned buildings. When they stopped their, Itachi turned to the two young boys, but before he could speak, Sasuke had already beaten him to it, "Brother, why are we here? And where is here?"

Itachi's smile from earlier was barely visible anymore as he began to speak, "This is an old abandoned lot that hasn't been in use since the Nine Tails attack. As for why we're here, it's simple. As you both know, I joined the ranks of the ANBU Black Ops a little over three months ago, so I won't always be around to help you two when your in trouble. And as you both know, when you two, or more specifically you Naruto, are around the Villagers, they tend to become violent. And what if I'm not here when another incident like this happens? So I've decided that starting today, I would teach you two the basics of Taijutsu so that in the most drastic of cases, you could defend yourselves."

Naruto's and Sasuke's eyes were wide open in shock at Itachi's words. Naruto then asked what was on both his, and Sasuke's mind, "You mean, it could get even worse than what happened earlier?"

Naruto did his best to keep the tears that were threatening to spill out from falling, but then Itachi nodded and spoke, "Much worse."

Sasuke couldn't believe what he was hearing, it was insane. He wondered, "Why is this all happening to Naruto? It just doesn't make any sense!"

Sasuke glanced over at Naruto, then back to Itachi, still confused and unsure about the situation.

Naruto couldn't help but let the tears that were welling up in his eyes begin falling at Itachi's words, "W..why? What did I do? Why is this happening to me? Why!? Just tell me, why?"

Itachi frowned at Naruto's question, "That's not what you should be concerned about, you'll learn why in due time. But for now, you should focus on this training so that you and Sasuke can defend yourselves if it comes to that."

Naruto looked as if he was going to object, but he hesitated, then he shook his head, letting several of his tear drops fall to the ground. "Fine then, if that's the way it's gotta be."

Itachi then looked over to Sasuke, who then glanced at Naruto, his eyes filled with worry for the first time, and then he looked back at Itachi and nodded his head. "Alright then, but I'll say this one more time, you are not to fight the Villagers unless absolutely necessary, is that understood?"

Both Naruto and Sasuke, resolve in their eyes, looked strait at Itachi and nodded. "Alright then, let's begin."


	4. Protecting Someone Precious

Guys could you give me just a sec? Hey there guys, I see some of you have made your way over here from my Naruto Exiled story. I'm really glad you guys came it means a hell of a lot to me. Sorry about that to anyone who just stumbled upon this story, I just wanted to greet all of my fans from my other Naruto story. But don't worry about it, it's not connected to this one in any way. Anyway, here's the third chapter, I hope you all read, enjoy and review.

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Five Months Later...

The Third Hokage was in a very foul mood today. He's had suspicions about the orphanage, but today they were confirmed. For a long while now he's suspected something was up, mostly because of their reports. It had started a little over eight months ago, when he caught an anomaly in one of them. However he disregarded it at that time. It wasn't until four months after the first anomaly that he start noticing certain things wrong with the reports. And during the past two months the reports became like night and day, one would say Naruto was doing well and getting along with the other kids, and the other would say that he was being a trouble making brat. So earlier today he had sent an ANBU Black Ops member to see exactly what was going on with Naruto, only to find out that he wasn't even in the orphanage. And after some interrogation Hiruzen had learned that Naruto had been kicked out of the orphanage a little over eight months ago.

He was livid, not only at the orphanage, but at himself as well. He should have know something was wrong sooner. Who could even know where he is? That's why Hiruzen had sent out a squad of ANBU Black Ops as soon as he learned of what had happened. He wanted Naruto found as soon as possible. But until then, he had to see to his paperwork. So that's where he was now, sitting at the Hokage desk, begrudgingly doing paperwork.

* * *

Sasuke was worried, after lunch Naruto had disappeared. Sasuke didn't know what to do, he couldn't find him anywhere in the whole Uchiha compound. Not to mention he had to keep everyone from knowing he was looking for him, so that made things harder. And when he had told his Mother about it, all she said was that he went for a walk. As Sasuke exited the Uchiha compound to go and find Naruto, he couldn't help but think to himself, "A walk, seriously? What is that knucklehead thinking!?"

* * *

Naruto had snuck away so as to be by himself, well, snuck wasn't exactly the right word. The only people who didn't know he was out and about were Sasuke and Itachi, their mother, Mikoto knew, he had told her himself. He wanted a breath of fresh air and to have time to think. He had done what had seemed utterly impossible back in the orphanage, he had made a friend, a few friends in fact, four to be exact. Their names were Hinata Hyuga, Sasuke Uchiha, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi. All four of them belonged to Clans of Shinobi, unlike Naruto himself. He was still living with the Uchiha, and fortunately no one knew except for Itachi, Sasuke and their mother Mikoto. Well there was one other person actually, and that was Itachi's best friend, Shisui Uchiha. But after Itachi spoke to him, he seemed to understand and promised to keep it a secret. So that wasn't troubling Naruto at all. What was on his mind was actually the fact that he hadn't seen much of Hinata in the past few months. They only had the chance to hangout maybe five times within the last five months, so that was nagging at Naruto's mind. He got to see Shikamaru and Choji twice times as much, having hung out with them about twice every month.

He enjoyed hanging with them, and he loved playing ninja and training with Sasuke, but the fact of the matter was that Hinata was his first ever real friend, and she reminded him of himself a bit. So he really wanted to see her every once in a while, but the last time he saw her was over two months ago. And this had him slightly upset. But he didn't mention it to anybody, Shikamaru and Choji wouldn't understand, and Naruto felt selfish and conceited talking to Sasuke, Itachi or Mikoto about it. They had their own problems, and Naruto saw that they had to struggle with them day in and day out. And their problems dwarfed his own, so he kept quiet about it. He was also worried about Hinata, it had been too long since they saw each other. So it just worried him, he himself didn't understand why though. A breath of fresh air helped, even if only a little bit, so he was glad he had snuck away. He hated being alone, but that was the best time to think.

Naruto's attention was pulled over to his right when he heard the faint sound of crying, it was coming from from around the corner. Naruto knew where it was coming from, so he decided to see what was up. As he slowly drew closer to the sound, he recognized a voice as the person it belong to spoke with a shaky voice, since they were crying,, "P...p...please, le...le...leave me al...al...alo...alone."

It was Hinata who was crying. Naruto didn't even have time to think before his feet began moving. He rounded the corner to find four older Boys surrounding Hinata, in an alleyway. The four Boys weren't that distinct, two had black hair, two had brown hair, and their clothes weren't very unique. All four of them had on knee length shorts, a different color for each boy. As well as simple collared shirts, and plain sandals. But from their formation, although very sloppy, you could tell they were Ninja in training. One of them spoke, responding to Hinata's plea, "What's wrong weirdo, you don't like attention? You could have fooled us, what with those creepy eyes, and your pale skin, you look like your craving attention! Right Guys?"

The other three Boys nodded, smirks on their faces, they were having fun messing with the Girl, who was five years their junior.

Hinata's clothes, while not very distinct, were quite noticeable compared to the array of colors on the four older Boys around her. She wore a black short sleeved t shirt, black ankle length pants and simple black sandals. So Naruto could see her clear as day, even though the four older boys were blocking her from his vision for the most part.

Naruto had seen enough though, so instead of standing their and staring like he had been for the past minute, he quickly put himself in between Hinata and the four boys. All four of them frowned when Naruto got in between them and Hinata, but smirked once more, as he spoke, "What do you guys think your doing!? Leave her alone!"

The one who had spoken earlier, who seemed to be the leader, spoke once more, "Why do you care? She your Girlfriend or something? Better yet, why should we care enough to stop?"

The other three boys began laughing along with their leader, while Naruto continued to stand in front of Hinata in a defensive stance, a fierce look in his eyes.

* * *

Hinata wanted the four older boys to leave her alone, but they wouldn't let up. But that's when Naruto appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, in between her and the older boys. He took a protective stance in front of Hinata, as he defended her. And the boys just laughed at him. As this happened, Hinata was staring at Naruto from behind, her eyes wide in disbelief, as Naruto stood up for her. She had not seen him in a long while, her training had been fast tracked a little over three months ago, so she was always busy training under her Father. However she wasn't progressing anywhere near as fast as he wished her to, however he did not push her too hard. Hizashi, his twin brother, was always there to help him understand. However it still upset Hinata that she wasn't living up to her Father's expectations. That's how she had ended up in this mess.

She had snuck away from the Hyuga compound so as to be alone, so that she could be upset without worrying her Mother or Father. That's when the older boys had stumbled upon her and began making fun of her. They called her weird, scrawny and weak.

Hinata was surprised that Naruto was defending her, she thought he would be angry or upset that she seemingly ignored him, by never meeting him at the park like they would every time they met up. So, tears in her eyes, and disbelief in her mind, she spoke, "N..Naruto, y...your h...he...here?"

Naruto glanced back at Hinata, a smirk on his face, "Of course, true friends stick together, no matter what."

The leader of the boys spoke once more, gaining Naruto's attention, "Get out of the way brat, or your gonna get it."

Naruto's smirk did not fade, "Bring it!"

Hinata knew what they were about to do, and she didn't want that, she didn't want Naruto to get hurt because of her, "No, don't!"

However they did not listen to her. She didn't want to see what was about to happen, however she wasn't able to look away, she was too worried about Naruto to do so.

One of the boys did as Naruto asked, and threw a right hook, but Naruto was able to bring up both of his hands and stop the punch in it's tracks. The boy pulled back and threw a left hook, but once more Naruto used both of his hands to successfully force his arm to stop. However, before the boy could pull back this time, Naruto brought his left arm over and jabbed the boy in his chest, causing him to take a step back in slight pain. Naruto advanced, giving the boy a hard right punch to the gut, causing him to hunch over in pain. However, a second boy stepped up, throwing a right straight punch at Naruto, he barely managed to duck so as to avoid the punch. Naruto then stood up quick, and used a right straight punch himself, and this one connected, right with the older boys chest. When Naruto's fist connected, the older boy couldn't help but take a few steps back in pain. Then the third older boy came at Naruto with a left hook, once more Naruto barely managed to dodge it.

But before Naruto could attack the third boy, the fourth one, the leader, shot forward as Naruto stood up and hit him with a right handed haymaker. Naruto was knocked to his ass by the force of the punch, a bruise already forming across his face. Naruto held the right side of his face as he stood up, a scowl where his smirk used to be. The boys he had hit were composed now, and all four of them were looking at Naruto.

Hinata tried once more in vain to make them stop, "Stop!"

The first boy threw a right hook and Naruto stepped back to dodge it, however the second boy advanced upon him with a straight punch, hitting him in the face, and Naruto was knocked down again. These boys were stronger than he was, although that didn't say much since he was a little over four and a half. But nevertheless, that meant they had two edges over him. Numbers and strength. Naruto wasn't going to chicken out however, so he stood up once more, the beginnings of a black eye showing on the other side of his face than where the bruise was.

Hinata tried again, "Please stop!"

However they did not listen.

That's when the third boy came with a left hook, and the first boy came with a haymaker. Because Naruto was focused on the third boy's attack, he was once again hit with a haymaker, although this time it was from the first boy. He was knocked onto the ground once more, a tiny bit of blood sliding down the very bottom left corner of his mouth.

The four boys figured that this was enough and turned towards Hinata, however Naruto was once again getting to his feet, even after that third punch. The leader of the boys then spoke, "Just give it up Kid, there's more of us than you, not to mention we're all bigger and stronger than you are."

Naruto then replied, "No way, you guys aren't getting off that easy. Your picking on my very best friend."

Hinata wasn't expecting to hear that, however it touched her deeply, Naruto was her one and only friend. And she barely ever got to see him, yet he still valued their friendship very much. Hearing him say that, made her feel warm inside.

The leader's reply was laced with sarcasm, "Aww, isn't that cute?"

the other three boys then began to laugh at their leaders statement. Naruto then moved forward and decked the leader in the chest with all of his might, causing the older boy to stumble back in pain, and it didn't look like he was going to recover quickly. The third boy quickly hit Naruto with a hard right hook, knocking him to the ground once more, "You little brat!"

Hinata's warm feeling disappeared as Naruto was hit one more, "Stop it!"

As Naruto was getting to his feet once more, the second boy hit him with a left hook to the face, knocking him down again. And as he tried to get to his feet again, the first boy hit him with a straight punch, simply knocking him to the ground once more. As Naruto struggled to get to his feet, the leader had composed himself and quickly repaid Naruto by hitting him with the hardest haymaker he could manage. This one knocked Naruto back about two feet, and he slammed against the alley wall, and slid down into a sitting position. Blood was leaking from both of his nostrils, because the force of the blow had broken his nose.

Hinata was beyond worried for Naruto now, they had hit him hard. "Naruto!"

Once more the four boys thought it would be enough, but as they turned back towards Hinata, Naruto was struggling to get to his feet. The leader spoke once more, "Oh come on Kid, just give it up. Aren't you hurt enough as it is?"

Naruto managed to get to his feet, and he smirked as he spoke, "I'll never give up, that's not how I'm going to live my life. I'll never give up, no matter how much pain it brings me. Oh and my names not kid, it's Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto's words struck something deep inside Hinata, and she couldn't help but see Naruto in a slightly different light. "Naruto..."

The leader however wasn't touched, and he wasn't amused eithere, "You are really asking for it Kid. Grab him guys."

The first and second boys nodded and as quickly as they could got behind Naruto and both locked him in a half nelson, keeping him from using either of his arms. The leader of the boys then gestured to the third boy, "Keep a lookout."

The third boy simply nodded his head, while the fourth boy took a few steps closer to Naruto. "Alright then Kid, I'll beat you so bad that you'll never think of messing with us again."

And then the older boy went to work on Naruto. He began punching him in the face, the chest and the gut, hitting him as hard as he could each time. Throughout the whole thing Naruto kept himself from crying out in pain,l however he couldn't stop the tears of pain from sliding down his face.

Hinata was frightened by such a display, she was worried for Naruto's health at this point. As she cried for them to let Naruto go, fresh tears began rolling down her face, and this time in greater number than before. "Stop it! Stop it now! Please! Your hurting him so much!"

* * *

Itachi was leading the search squad for Naruto, he had found out from his Mother that Naruto had gone out for a walk, so he would actually have to search the village, with three other ANBU members following behind. They had been at it for several minutes when they heard desperate cries coming from a remote back alley off in the distance, and when they heard them, they quickly followed them.

* * *

The leader was breathing raggedly as he finally stopped hitting Naruto, it had only been a few minutes, but he hadn't stopped since he started. Hinata was a complete mess a few feet away. While Naruto's broken nose was even worse, more blood was leaking from his nostrils, blood was leaking from both bottom corners of his mouth, a bruise across his right cheek and two black eyes. The leader spoke once again, "Alright let him go. We need to go home."

The first and second boy unceremoniously let go of Naruto and let him drop to his knees. Then all four of the older boys left, without even a remark to Naruto or Hinata.

Naruto wasn't on his knees for long, as he fell over and hit the ground with a slight thump, his eyes closing when he hit the ground. Hinata was quick to rush over to him, she got down on her knees and tried to get him to speak. "N...Naruto!? Naruto are you okay!? P...p...please N...N...Naruto, please tell me y...your okay!?"

Tears were flowing freely down Hinata's face, she needed help, Naruto needed help. She didn't understand why no one had come, surely they would have heard all the commotion? That's when someone placed their hand on her shoulder, her vision blurred by the tears she looked back to see who it was. It was hard to see because of the tears, but Hinata could make out that whoever it was wearing an ANBU Black Ops outfit and matching animal mask. And that he or she, had more ANBU members with them.

* * *

Itachi stood before the Third Hokage, he wore his ANBU outfit, but not his mask. The third Hokage had just received Itachi's report, since Naruto was already in the hospital. Itachi was going to get on one knee and bow his head, as customary, but Hiruzen waved him off. So Itachi stood up straight, as Hiruzen began to speak, "So then, what your telling me is that when the orphanage kicked Naruto out, the Uchiha took him in?"

"No Lord Hokage. My Mother took him in. The Uchiha would not accept Naruto into their estate, and neither would my Father. However my Mother, Sasuke and I thought he deserved better than to live on the streets. So he's been living with us, and we've been keeping it a secret that he stays there."

Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe before he replied, "I see...and you three wish to keep Naruto there?"

"Yes. My Mother has grown quite fond of him, he is Sasuke's best friend, and I myself feel attached to him. If you entrust him with us, we will keep him safe, I promise you this."

Hiruzen took another puff from his pipe, and then replied, "Very well then. I'll entrust his upbringing to you and your Mother, and I will help however I can. But I warn you Itachi, if you don't keep your promise, or I hear that any of the Uchiha lay a hand on him, there will be severe consequences, especially considering what their already planning to do."

"Of course Lord Hokage, I will not let you or Naruto down."

* * *

Naruto was sitting up in his hospital bed, Sasuke sitting in a chair beside him. Hinata had left earlier, on Itachi's advice. However she had apologized to and thanked Naruto profusely. Naruto had told her it was nothing, but she would remember this the rest of her life.

Sasuke was at the moment letting Naruto have it, "What do you think you were doing ya Knucklehead?"

Naruto smiled sheepishly as he answered, "Like I told your Mom, I was just taking a walk."

"Just talking a walk? Look at you Naruto, your a mess."

Naruto's smile faded, as he became serious, "I had to protect Hinata Sasuke, she's one of my best friends."

Sasuke sighed, he knew Naruto was right, and even if he wasn't, when he set his mind to something like this, no one could convince him he was wrong. He had really come out of his shell during the past five months. "Yeah, I know, I know. I just wished you had brought me along. With the both of us, we probably could have taken them."

Naruto's smile returned at that, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing when they were beating the crap out of me."

They both couldn't help but begin laughing at that, but after several seconds, Naruto's laughter came to a halt. When Sasuke noticed this, his laughter began to die down, as he wondered what had caused Naruto to stop laughing. "What's wrong Naruto?"

Naruto was silent for a moment, but he did answer, gripping the sheets of the bed as hard as he could while speaking, "I couldn't protect her Sasuke. If they had turned around instead of leaving, they could have beaten Hinata just as much as they beat me. And I couldn't have done anything about it, nothing at all."

Naruto felt tears welling up in his eyes as he spoke, and he tried his best to keep them from falling, and he succeeded. However his anger had not diminished in the least. There was a silence between Naruto and Sasuke for several long moments, until it was interrupted by the arrival of Itachi. He had heard everything that Naruto had said, so he spoke, "Your right, you couldn't have protected her if they had decided to hurt her after you were down. But the same thing would have happened to anyone your age. The only reason you did so well against those older boys was because of my training, so you shouldn't beat yourself up over it, because anyone else your age would have failed miserably, they would have done even worse than you did."

Naruto's eyes widened at Itachi's words, as he realized what he needed to do. So, resolve in his eyes, Naruto looked up at Itachi and directly into his eyes as he spoke, "Your right. But I need to be able to protect the people who are precious to me. So, Itachi, I'm begging you, please give me some special training, teach me whatever I need to know so I can be strong enough next time. Strong enough to protect Hinata, no matter what."

Sasuke kept silent, however he looked over at Itachi, wondering what he would say.

Itachi was almost overwhelmed by the fire in Naruto's eyes and the conviction in his words, he couldn't bring himself to say no. So after a few moments of tense silence, he spoke, "Alright then, if that's what you want. Tomorrow you'll begin training for real, I'll teach you the special stuff. The stuff that an Academy student wouldn't know even after they graduate. However I expect you both to listen to me, and follow my orders down to the T. And yes you heard me right, you'll be undergoing this training too, Sasuke. Now, does that sound fair?"

Sasuke was a little caught off guard by his sudden inclusion in the training, however he was happy to be apart of it. So he eagerly agreed.

While Naruto, still serious, nodded his head, ready for whatever Itachi was going to throw at him during their training.


	5. The Promise That Could Not Be Kept

All right then, here we go, here's the fourth chapter, I hope you all read, enjoy and review.

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Four Months Later...

Itachi had to admit to himself that Naruto and Sasuke were progressing faster than he thought that they would. Although both had to be taught differently. While Sasuke learned on a fundamental level, he soaked up the info faster than even most Uchiha. Naruto on the other hand couldn't be taught like this, his was physical. He had to learn by doing, he had to be given an example, told how to do it, and then you just let him go at it until he's mastered it. However you also wanted to watch him with a critical eye, so as to make sure he wasn't doing anything wrong. Once he was doing everything the right way, he wouldn't mess up again, that's just how he was. Even though they both learned differently, Itachi was still able to teach both of them quite effectively. However they both still had a long way to go before they finished Itachi's training regimen. It would take years to finish his training, he promised them the special stuff, and he was going to give them the special stuff. However they most likely wouldn't learn everything until they were twelve at least.

And that was where another problem popped up, just because they knew how to do it, doesn't mean they could. If they didn't have large enough chakra reserves, about fifty percent of what Itachi planned to teach them, would be rendered useless. Nevertheless though, that was for another time. Until then Itachi would just hope for the best. Itachi however wasn't going to train Naruto and Sasuke today, he had a mission. He was currently packing for such a mission, because he would be gone for about a week. It was an ANBU mission, so he would be the only Uchiha and unlike most of his fellow clansmen, that was a relief to him. For you see he didn't get along with his clansmen, not one bit. He desired peace, they desired control, two things that are almost impossible to put together. In their path to control was one person, the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. So they had to be rid of him if they were ever to take control of the village. But for this plan, they needed a man on the inside, to feed them info so they knew what they were doing.

They considered Itachi to be their spy in the ANBU, however Itachi was actually the Hokage's mole in the Uchiha. He had been ever since he reported the Uchiha clan's plan to overthrow the Hokage, and put Itachi's father, Fugaku, in the position of power. Itachi did not wish for his clan to be destroyed, so he pleaded with the Hokage to let him try and dissuade them from executing their plan. However his previous attempts have failed, and he has begun to lose faith in the Uchiha. If they did not straighten up, and get this crazy idea out of their heads, then they would have to be destroyed. Itachi knew this, and he agreed with it. But for one reason, and one reason only, war. He had seen exactly what the Third Shinobi World War had done to the world, it was what had made him a pacifist. And whether or not the Uchiha coup succeeded or failed, the aftermath would leave them open to attack, and everyone knew that some of the other nations would not hesitate to do so. And that would set off another great ninja war. And to Itachi that had to be stopped, at all costs.

Itachi was finished packing, so he threw the small satchel he had put everything in over his shoulder and exited his room. He said goodbye to his Mother, and then exited the house. It was quite early in the morning, not even eight AM yet, so Sasuke and Naruto weren't out and about. Or so Itachi thought. However as he was walking through the mostly empty Uchiha compound, and came upon a small stream, no more than three feet deep and four feet wide, his eyes came to an Uchiha holding Naruto up in the air by the collar of his shirt. The Uchiha had, like most Uchiha, black hair and black eyes, but his hair was in a bob cut. And He wore a black mid sleeve t shirt, with the Uchiha symbol on the back, black pants, and ordinary brown sandals. Itachi recognized him, his name was Takkun. But none of that mattered, what did matter was why he had a hold of Naruto.

Naruto was struggling, but Takkun was seventeen years old, weighed a hundred eighty pounds and was five foot six, even with his current training Naruto was no match for Takkun. Itachi approached them and as he did Takkun turned towards him, a smug smirk on his face as he held a struggling Naruto by the collar of his white shirt. "Why, hello there Itachi. Look what I found and by your house too. Tell me Itachi, have you been harboring this little brat?"

Itachi scowled, "How do you know about that?"

Takkun's smug smirk widened at that, "Oh I've had my suspicions, but lately I've just noticed strange things happening around your place. So I decided to watch closely and what do ya know, I find this thing exiting your house just a few minutes ago."

Itachi's frown deepened, "Don't call him that, Takkun."

Takkun's voice became laced with sarcasm, "Oh the great Itachi knows my name, I'm so honored!"

"Cut the crap Takkun."

"Of course Itachi. After all, if I don't do as you say I'll lose the favor of the clan elders for not listening to the Uchiha prodigy. Ah, but what if I told them about this? How you've been harboring this thing, how do you think they'll react? I know your Father wont approve, so I'm pretty sure it'd land you knee deep in shit, wouldn't it?"

During all of this, Naruto continued to struggle, but it was unfortunately futile. Itachi then spoke to Naruto, "Just calm down, I'll get you out of this."

Naruto's eyes went to Itachi, he nodded his head, and begrudgingly stopped fighting. Takkun gave a chuckle, "And just how are you gonna do that? I've got you Itachi, if you really care for this thing, then I've got you."

Itachi's frown didn't let up, "I said stop calling him that."

"I don't give a damn what you say, I'm sick of you. What with all the praise you receive from everyone. I'm surprised you would waste your time on something like this thing, since you've always been the best damn suck up I know. I can't wait to see your face when I tell the Elders about this, they'll be furious with you, and have this thing on the streets in a matter of no time. Ha! I love it!"

As Itachi saw it he only had two options. He knew Takkun well enough to know that he wouldn't give Naruto over, no matter what. So he could either let him turn Naruto in and break his promise, or he could...resolve the situation before it went any further. In Itachi's mind, he had no choice, he would not break his promise, he wouldn't let Naruto be put back out on the streets, he had only been with him, his Mother and Sasuke for a few days over a year. He was five, he still couldn't fend for himself. So Itachi acted in the only way that he knew would work to the absolute. He dashed forward and slammed his left fist into Takkun's gut as hard as he possibly could, causing him to drop Naruto, hunch forward in pain and cough up some blood. Itachi gave him no time to recover, he quickly grabbed a fistful of Takkun's hair with his right hand and held his left arm at bay with his left hand. And then he forced him forward over to the stream, dropping to his own knees as he did so, and forced Takkun's head underwater.

As Takkun began to struggle, Itachi tightened his grip and continued to hold his head under the water. As this happened, Naruto watched in fright. He had no clue what was happening, he was about to yell for him to stop, but before he could, Itachi glanced back at him, his sharingan active, he had a look in his eyes that said to be quiet. So that's what Naruto did, he stayed quiet. Because he trusted Itachi, and now he was beginning to fear him. Itachi then turned back to the matter at hand. Takkun was no longer holding his breath, so air bubbles rapidly began coming to the surface of the water, meaning he was running out of air, fast. Fearing for his life even more, Takkun began struggling even harder, however Itachi held firm and kept Takkun's head submerged in the three feet of water. This continued for several long moments, before Takkun's struggling began to die down. And within a matter of seconds his struggling ceased altogether. But Itachi kept his grip tight for a few more moments just in case, before finally letting go and checking Takkun's pulse. There wasn't one. He had been silenced, permanently. So Naruto was safe, for now.

Itachi then pulled Takkun's head out of the water, and laid him on his back, so as to do what he needed to with the body. However out of the corner of his eye, Itachi noticed something far more important than getting rid of Takkun's body. He saw a trembling Naruto, his back against a tree, his knees to his chest, and his eyes filled with fear and disbelief. Itachi got to his feet and took a few steps toward Naruto, and the young boy's eyes immediately shot to him when he came into his line of sight. Itachi sighed and got down on one knee, so as to be eye level with Naruto. "Are you okay Naruto?"

Naruto seemed to ignore his question, "W..wh...why di...did you do that? Why did you kill him?"

Itachi wished Naruto hadn't seen that, but it couldn't be avoided. He also didn't want to have tell him why someone would do what he had just done, at least not until he graduated the Academy. But it couldn't be helped, he needed to hear it now. "If I hadn't done that, he would have told the Clan about you, and then you'd be back out on the streets again. And who knows what the Villagers would do to you when your all by yourself, and no one can come to your rescue. They may not be Shinobi, but even with the training you've received so far, you wouldn't be able to hold them off forever. Not to mention all of the backlash that could happen to Sasuke, our Mother and me if they found out we were hiding you. Takkun would have ruined four lives, I stopped him from doing so. Sometimes, when nothing else can be done, you have to be willing to kill, so as to save yourself and the ones you hold most dear. This doesn't just apply to Shinobi either, that's the way this world is. The strong will always try to control or destroy the weak. You have to be willing to fight back, you have to be willing to fight for what you believe in, you can't ever back down Naruto, or everything, and I mean everything you love will be taken away for good."

Naruto stared into Itachi's sharingan eyes as he said all of this to him, and it surprised him, that he understood where Itachi was coming from. Itachi had his sharingan activated so as to be alert, he wanted to explain things to Naruto, however he also had to be wary of anybody who might spot them and or Takkun's dead body. Naruto was silent, and Itachi spoke once more, this time getting through to Naruto even more than last time, "You told me that you, Sasuke and Hinata all plan on being Ninja. When your out there in the field, a time will come when their defenseless, and their lives are depending on you. And when that time comes, if you hesitate for even a moment to kill the people who want to hurt them, you will lose them forever."

That one hit home for Naruto, two tears escaped from his eyes and rolled down his face as he said, "I...I understand Itachi."

Itachi almost smiled at that, "That's good, I'm glad. Now I want you to get back home as quickly and quietly as possible, while I take care of the body, alright?"

Naruto nodded his head and Itachi helped him to his feet. Naruto then took a few steps forward, he stopped abruptly and looked back at Takkun's corpse, before turning back and continuing to the house. Itachi breathed a sigh of relief, he was afraid he would have to use a Genjutsu on Naruto, which would mean he would have to forget about the advice Itachi had just given him, and he didn't want that to happen. But he also didn't want Naruto's psyche to be fucked up, but it seemed he would be okay. Itachi would keep a close eye on him nevertheless, never can be too careful. He had grown to care greatly for Naruto, he didn't wish for him to come to any harm. Itachi then turned back to Takkun's corpse, he would have to get rid of it, and he knew just how.

* * *

Naruto rushed back to the house and slipped in unnoticed. He barely managed to sneak past Mikoto and get back into Sasuke's room. He laid back down on his pallet, his head full of thoughts about what had just occurred. Itachi's words were also echoing inside his head as well. Naruto understood where Itachi was coming from, and he agreed with him, but he was still in shock. It wasn't everyday that you see someone forcefully drowned right in front of you.

* * *

It had been about three days since Itachi left on his mission, and three days since the incident with Takkun. Fortunately, no one suspected a thing. Naruto was kind of frightened by the fact that he was interested in finding out how Itachi had managed to pull it off. But nevertheless he didn't let it get to him, he was going to meet Hinata for lunch today. And her Mothers cooking was the best, so he had two things to look forward to. He had told her to meet him outside the Uchiha compound, so that's why he was currently sneaking out of the compound. But as he rushed from tree to tree in the training portion of the compound, hiding behind them so as to remain unseen, he came to a small clearing where he saw Hinata, surrounded by three Uchiha boys. He didn't recognize them, however they were all dressed in black, and had the signature Uchiha black hair and such, so they honestly looked like half of the other boys anyway.

* * *

Hinata held onto a large bento box tightly, holding it close to her chest, trying to keep the three boys who were only a year older than her from taking it. Naruto had told her to wait outside the compound, but she thought she would surprise him by coming to him. However such a plan was interrupted when these three came along, and began demanding that she hand the bento box over. They had stated that she was on their property, and as such she would have to pay up for being here. She kindly offered to bring them one next time, however they demanded the one she had on her currently. She tried to be as kind and courteous as possible when she stated that it was for someone else and her to share, stuttering along the way of course. However they weren't letting up, and Hinata was trying her best not to show that they were upsetting her.

* * *

Naruto understood what they were doing after a few moments, so he stepped out from behind a tree, and confronted them. "Hey, what do you three think your doing?"

All three boys turned around so as to see who was talking to them, and when they saw who it was, the one in the middle scoffed. "It's none of your business, so beat it dweeb."

"Actually it is my business, jerk. That's one of my best friends your trying to steal from."

"Steal? She's on our property, we deserve to be payed."

"For what? She and I were just about to leave and go eat lunch. We're only on 'your' property by coincidence. So why don't you just let us leave? Then we don't even have to argue about this."

"Actually, I have a better idea. How about we just beat the crap out of you guys, until we get what we want?"

Hinata couldn't help but take a step back in slight fright. Naruto scowled at that, "You'd really beat on a girl? One who's a year younger than you are as well? Your all jerks. Leave her alone, or else."

The one in the middle spoke one more time, "Oh what are you gonna do tough guy? There's three of us and only one of you, not to mention, we're Uchiha! We're from the greatest clan in all of the Village!" You can't do anything to us."

Naruto's scowl did not fade, however his tone of voice was one of confidence, it said all that needed to be said. "Watch me."

Naruto rushed forward and slammed his right fist into the gut of the Uchiha in the middle, who then doubled over in pain. The Uchiha on Naruto's left went for a right hook, while the one on his right went for a left hook, he merely ducked under their punches. He then slammed his left fist into the right side of the Uchiha who was on his right, and then promptly maneuvered himself in front of him, and slammed his right knee hard into his abdomen, causing him to double over in pain as well. The Uchiha who had been on his left, was now behind him. And before he could attack, Naruto quickly shot backwards, pushing against the ground with all of his might, performing a handstand. However before he lost his momentum, he quickly went to land on his feet, but his right foot made contact with the final Uchiha's face before it touched the ground, and with the momentum, it was a hard kick to the face. It knocked the Uchiha to his ass, blood sliding down from both of his nostrils, since his nose was now broken.

Naruto managed to land back on his feet quite alright, which he couldn't say the same for the three Uchiha boys, they were defeated badly. Naruto was silent, but he couldn't help but think to himself, "Thank you Itachi, thank you Itachi, thank you Itachi! I love these Taijutsu moves!"

However it wasn't over yet, all three boys were on their feet once more, all of them angry. They charged Naruto this time, but he was ready. The one who got to him first was the one who had been on his right before, before he could attack, Naruto slammed his left elbow hard into his gut, causing him to double over in pain once more, this time though he was out of the fight, too hurt to continue. That's when the Uchiha who had originally been on Naruto's right, the one with the broken nose, closed in on him, but before he could attack, Naruto spun around, and delivered a hard right kick to his head, knocking him to the ground, taking him out of the fight. That's when the final Uchiha, the one who had been in the middle originally, closed in on Naruto. But Naruto finished the fight by delivering a right handed haymaker to the charging Uchiha, knocking him flat on his back and ending the fight.

Hinata had managed to stay silent during the small fight, only letting out a gasp here and there, she didn't like Naruto to fight on her accord. She didn't ever want him to be hurt again for defending her. Once was more than enough for her.

Naruto then turned to Hinata, "Alright then, you still up for lunch?"

Hinata couldn't help but blush as she gave a small smile and nodded her head. Naruto smiled at that, "Let's go then."

"Hold it right there, boy."

That voice stopped Naruto in his tracks, he didn't want to turn around, but he knew he had to. He recognized the voice all too well, and the fact it was coming from behind him was not good at all. Hinata's eyes widened because she was already looking at the source of the voice. Naruto turned around saw exactly who he didn't want to see, the clan head, the father of Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha. And it was easy to see that he was not pleased at all with what had just transpired. That's when he looked Naruto dead in the eyes and squinted, as if disgusted Naruto was even in the compound. Naruto's eyes widened and he began to shiver, one of his worst fears was about to come true, he knew it, he was about to be put back out on the streets.

* * *

Naruto cringed as they slammed the gate to the Uchiha compound closed behind him, drawing the attention of everyone around, so now Naruto had a dozen different Villagers watching him as he tried his best to hold in his tears. He was grateful that Hinata wasn't here to see him on the brink of tears, Fugaku had her forcefully taken back to the Hyuga compound. As the tears finally began to fall from his eyes, the Villagers were still staring, most with hate in their eyes. Naruto couldn't take it anymore, "Stop, stop it! Stop looking at me like that!"

Naruto then took off running, tears now coming faster as he rushed past the Villagers and deeper into the Village, nowhere to go.

* * *

Sasuke couldn't help himself, tears continued to slowly stream down his face, he was so upset. Naruto had been forcefully removed from the compound, and then Sasuke's Father came in and reprimanded Mikoto and him for keeping Naruto in the Uchiha compound. Sasuke was now locked in his room, his Father furious at him, his Brother gone on a mission, and his best friend out on the streets, left to fend for himself.

* * *

Hinata continued to sob into her Mother's kimono, murmuring the same thing over and over again, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault."

Heather just held her Daughter close and continued to comfort her, she understood why she was so upset. Her best friend had just been put out on the streets, and she blamed herself. She said that if she hadn't went into the Uchiha compound none of this would have ever happened. Heather couldn't believe the Uchiha could be so despicable as to put a five year old child out on the streets. However she would keep this thought to herself, she knew how the Hyuga clan worked, and she had a basic understanding of how the Uchiha clan worked, if she said anything, there would only be backlash, Naruto would not receive the help he needs. So Heather just comforted her Daughter, it was all she could do.

* * *

Naruto slowly entered a dark back alley, wary for any sort of presence. When he found none he began to look around. After about fifteen minutes, he gave up, there was nothing back here but trash. But it had been over nine hours since he was kicked out of the Uchiha compound, it was almost midnight, and he was sleepy. He had no choice, he knew that. So he found a small space between some garbage bags, that wasn't sticky and nasty, but also kept him out of view, and lied down. A few more tears rolled down his face at the uncomfortable feeling of the ground compared to his nice soft pallet back in Sasuke's room. And then he closed his eyes, and did his best to relax, and soon enough sleep claimed his emotionally exhausted being.


	6. Naruto's Thievery

All right then, here we go, here's the fifth chapter, I hope you all read, enjoy and review.

* * *

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he felt a harsh blunt pain in his gut, he instinctively held his stomach, as if it would lessen the pain. He had no idea what had just happened. But when he heard someone speak to him, he forced himself to look at his surroundings. "Hey, get up you little brat! You need to get out of here!"

Naruto noticed he was still in the back alley, except it wasn't night anymore, it was morning, the exact time he was unsure of. And there was a man standing in front of him, wearing some kind of uniform, for some kind of restaurant. He looked to be in his thirties, had short brown hair and brown eyes. And Naruto couldn't help but notice the man's eyes held the same hate and disgust most of everyone else had when they looked at him. Naruto was going to speak since the pain was fading, but before he could, the man shot his right leg forward, kicking him in the gut. Naruto gasped in a pain, it was the same pain he had felt only moments before, the same pain came from the same source. The man had woken him up by kicking him. "I said get out of here!"

Naruto did his best to fight through the pain and get to his feet, but halfway up, he fell to his knees. The man was obviously getting angrier, but before he could do anything Naruto put up his hand, so as to make him stop. "I'm going, just please don't kick me again."

Naruto got to his feet, still holding his gut in pain, and walked out of the back alley. As soon as he exited the back alley he came into open walking space, where Villagers of course took notice of him. He knew this would happen, he let go of his gut, and continued to walk. He had to find a place to be alone and think.

It didn't take him very long to find another back alley to be alone in. The pain from the man's kick had subsided now, however Naruto was still hurting. This pain was from hunger though, he had only eaten once yesterday, and that had been breakfast. He needed something to eat. He didn't know how to get to Ichiraku's from here though. That meant he would have to ask for food from a nearby diner, or proposition them so he could work for food. It was the only real option he had, he wasn't stupid, he knew how it worked. So he exited the back alley he was in, and began looking.

The first place he went to refused to give him a handout, and when he asked to work for the food, they continuously denied him. The second place did the same thing. The third one started to call him names until he couldn't take it anymore and left. The fourth one had someone forcefully remove him from the premises after he was turned down. The fifth place just shut their door in his face. The sixth place chased him off before he could enter the establishment. And the seventh one tried to beat him for asking. He had been rejected and rejected, time and time again, he still had no food and it was already noon.

Naruto's stomach growled in hunger, and he felt the dreaded hunger pains once more. It had only been twenty seven hours since the last time he ate, and he already felt like his stomach was actually trying to eat itself. He knew he wouldn't be able to go as long as some other people had to, more than two days with no food would probably kill him. He knew it, and it frightened him. But he didn't know where to get some food. He didn't have money so he could't buy it, no one would hire him so he couldn't work for it, and almost everyone hated him, so he couldn't get a handout. He had to get food or he would die, he knew that at the very least. He was beginning to grow desperate.

So he began looking for Ichiraku's, he looked for a whole hour before he realized what part of the village he was in. From where he was he still couldn't find his way to Ichiraku's, but he could find his way to the Uchiha compound. It wasn't a very smart move, or a very safe move, but he was starving and he didn't know what else to do. So he began making his way to the Uchiha compound, so as to beg for food.

* * *

Naruto didn't make it past the gates, the guards were on him within moments of seeing him. He barely managed to escape from them, but he had escaped deeper into the village, not into the Uchiha compound, so it didn't matter very much. He was now out of ideas, he didn't know what else to do. He felt like crying. That's when he realized that he was near the Market district. He could panhandle for food there. He'd probably get in trouble, and maybe even chased, but it was better than starving to death. So Naruto made his way to the Market district, and when he got there he began to panhandle.

It failed, just like it had with the restaurants. There was only one place left, and it was Naruto's last chance. So he entered the establishment, and approached the owner. The Owner scowled when he saw Naruto, and when he ordered Naruto to leave, he refused. He walked up to the man, and began asking for food. The man refused, but Naruto wouldn't quit, he just kept asking. The man's voice grew louder with each no, and his anger grew as well. Finally Naruto got down on his knees, tears welling up in his eyes, and just flat out began begging for food. "Please Mister, please! Can't you give me anything? I'll work around the shop, I'll do anything, just please may I have a bit of food?"

The Man couldn't take it anymore, he blew up in Naruto's face, "NO DEMON! How many times do I have to say it!? I'll never give food to the likes of you!"

Naruto hung his head, as he did he couldn't help but let his tears begin falling, that was his last chance. The only other thing he could do was go door to door and plead for food. But it was obvious no one was going to give him anything, everyone in this Village hated him with every fiber of their being, and he didn't know why. He cried for several moments before the Man yelled at him once more, "Get out! Get out of my store!"

Naruto knew that if he didn't, the man would probably get violent. He was the type with an anger problem. So He got to his feet, and began making his way out. As He made his slow walk to the door, he realized that he wouldn't be able to get anything to eat at all, no matter where he went. That's when he also realized that he was out of options, if he wanted to eat, he would have to steal the food. He made his decision on whether he would do so or not as he drew closer to the door, where a bin was near, filled with Carrots. Before Naruto exited the shop, he grabbed a handful of Carrots, and ran, he ran as fast as he could to get away, tears still coming down his face. He needed food to survive, if this was the only way to get it, then that's just what he had to do. That's what he kept telling himself as he rushed past other Villagers, as the shop owner chased after him.

Soon enough more Villagers began chasing after Naruto, because the shop owner kept shouting out, "Help! The Demon stole from me!"

Naruto ran and ran, if he let up, they would catch him for sure. So he cut through back alleys and took every short cut he knew, which wasn't very many, but nevertheless they helped, even if only a bit. Naruto looked back to see if he had lost them yet, and his eyes widened as he realized that not only had he not lost them, now there was over a dozen of them, all of them angry. Naruto turned his head back to where he was going and did his best to push himself to go faster, it seemed to work, as their voices started to lose volume, because they kept yelling he could tell. But as he turned a corner, he found himself back in the same back alley with a dead end, that he had defended Hinata in about four months ago. He couldn't believe it, he shook his head and turned around, so as to get out of here before he got cornered. However he was too late, fifteen Men blocked the exit of the back alley, and of course they were the same ones who had been chasing him.

Naruto's eyes widened to their fullest, he was trapped like a rat. He slowly began backing up as the Villagers slowly began walking forward towards him. Naruto continued to take steps backwards, until he hit the the wall of a building that was the dead end of the alley. He was scared, he didn't know what was going to happen. Last time Itachi had come to his rescue, but now there was no one who would, he was on his own. Naruto felt new tears well up in his eyes as the fifteen Villagers continued to advance upon him, all of their eyes filled with hate and disgust. The biggest of them, standing at six foot three, stood in front and spoke, "You little Demon brat, your going to pay for stealing from our Village!"

Fresh tears began to roll down Naruto's face as he screamed at the Villagers, "It's my Village too! All I wanted was some food, I said I'd work for it, but no one would agree to let me work! I begged for it, and no one was kind enough to give me any! It's not like I have any money, so I can't buy it from anyone! What did you expect me to do!? Starve to death!? I don't wanna die!"

This seemed to only anger the fifteen Men further. The one standing in front gritted his teeth and took a few steps forward, so he was only about two feet from Naruto. And then he lashed out and hit Naruto in the face with a haymaker, a sloppy one, but a haymaker nonetheless. "You won't get any sympathy from us, Monster!"

Naruto had nowhere to be knocked back to, so he was just slammed an inch back into the wall making the alley a dead end one, and yelped in pain as it happened. Naruto dropped the carrots he was holding, and slid down into a sitting position, a large bruise already forming on his face. Luckily the Man hadn't broken anything. The Man who had punched Naruto then began to pick up the carrots, he was taking the only food Naruto was able to obtain. He knew that if he let those carrots get away, then he would be doomed. So he did the only thing he could do, he stood up, which called everyone's attention to him. The Man who was picking up carrots looked at him, still bent down, but before he could say anything Naruto lashed out. Naruto hit the Man in the face with the hardest right handed haymaker he could perform, and unlike the man's sloppy one, Naruto's was perfectly executed, which meant it would cause even more damage. "I refuse to starve to death!"

The Man hadn't expected anything of that sort, and was knocked to his ass, dropping all of the carrots as he let out a yelp of pain of his own. He held his right hand over his nose, which was bleeding from both nostrils, because Naruto had broken his nose with that punch. The Man's eyes were wide in disbelief, a five year old had just put him on his ass. A five year old Demon is what he said in his head, but nevertheless he was angry. He got to his feet, "Why you little, I'll make you pay!"

He came with a left hook, which Naruto ducked under and then he hit the man in the gut with a hard left jab. The Man hadn't seen that one coming, so he clutched his stomach in unexpected pain, grunting as he did so. Naruto then tried to finish him off, he jumped up about two feet and hit the man with a sloppy right handed uppercut. Which the Man had also not seen coming, he stumbled back from the unexpected impact to his jaw, it had hurt more than he would have anticipated. He also didn't think he would have yelped in pain when he got hit, but he did. Nevertheless though, when he had regained his composure, he had decided that he had had enough. So he called the others over, "Let's teach this Demon a lesson!"

The other fourteen Villagers loudly agreed and charged towards Naruto. As they drew closer to Naruto, he kicked as many carrots out of the way, without squishing them, so they would be safe from being trampled. He then turned to face the Villagers, but they were already up in his face. Before he had time to defend, he took a blow to the stomach, three to the face, two to the ribs and a kick to the chest. He was knocked back and slammed against the wall behind him, as they continued to beat on him. He did his best to fight back, but there was fifteen of them, he couldn't have taken them on even if there were ten more of him. Soon they threw him the the ground and began to pummel him there. As the attack on him continued, they continuously insulted him, this time with new material. He was called the usual 'Demon' and 'Monster', but he was also told that he was worthless and that the Village would be better off if he was dead. That one in particular cut deep.

After just thirty seconds Naruto couldn't stand it anymore, the agony he was being put through was too much for his little body to handle, and the hurtful things that spilled from the Villager's mouths were too much for his young Psyche, he began crying out for them to stop, as tears continuously streamed down his face. However the fifteen Men didn't care, they continued to assault Naruto, making sure to let out all of their aggression on him.

* * *

Less than ten minutes later fifteen exhausted Men left that back alley, leaving behind a beaten and bruised Naruto. He lie on the ground, his clothes dirty and wrinkled, dirt all over him, blood coming from both of his nostrils because of his broken nose. He also had a bit of blood dribbling from the bottom right corner of his mouth, as well as bruises all over his arms, a few on his face, a few on his legs and about three across his abdomen, with two on his back. His hair was a mess, his eyes were raw, and he was in poor physical condition. He tried to get to his feet, but he couldn't get himself an inch off the ground. He tried once more just to fail again. He tried a third time, and actually started to rise. However before he could get fully to his feet, he fell to his knees. Tears were still coming down his face, just at a slower rate. However he ignored them and tried to get to his feet once more, and he did, not without difficulty though. When he tried to take a step forward though, he almost fell over. He had used a wall for support to keep himself from falling.

His legs were wobbly, he would need to use the wall for support for an hour at least. He then looked back over to where he had kicked the carrots, and just like he had hoped, they had forgotten all about them and left'em, so he could finally eat. He slowly got over there and sat down, he grabbed one of the carrots and began to eat. He didn't like vegetables, or even fruits really, but he was starving, and this was all he had to eat. However even as he slowly filled his aching belly, he couldn't smile. Mainly because he wasn't happy in the slightest. Not to mention that now he had nowhere to get food, he had stolen and was beaten into the ground for it, they would be on the lookout for him. He wouldn't risk seeing what they'd do if he was caught stealing a second time. He had to find someway to eat without getting in trouble, otherwise he would never make it out here on the streets.

Not to mention he also had to find somewhere to sleep tonight. It had to be out of sight, so as to avoid a repeat of the incident from this morning. There was so much for Naruto to learn and do if he wanted to survive out on the streets. He had been unprepared, but he would learn from his mistakes, if he didn't, he'd be dead within a week.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was absolutely livid at the current moment. He had just found out from a letter that Naruto had been kicked out of the Uchiha compound, and was now on the streets. And the letter was from Heather Hyuga, the wife of the head of the Hyuga clan, Hiashi Hyuga, and the mother of the heir to the Hyuga clan, Hinata Hyuga. Itachi had told Hiruzen of the close relationship Naruto had with Hinata, so he wasn't entirely surprised to find this out from the girl's Mother. Say what you want about the Hyuga's but Heather cared greatly for her Daughter.

Nevertheless though Hiruzen was greatly upset at the current moment, it seemed Itachi had been doing a lot to keep Naruto hidden, because he's been gone a few days, and Naruto's already been caught. The Third Hokage took a puff from his pipe and sighed, he just hoped Naruto was okay. He had already sent a group of ANBU out to find him, they were to scour the Village and find him as fast as they possibly could. He trusted them as much as he trusted Itachi's group, so he believed they would find him. He just hoped he was okay when they did so, he couldn't bare the thought of Naruto being hurt because of the foolishness of others.

* * *

Itachi had been feeling a looming sense of dread for about twenty four hours now, so he was more than just a little worried. But nothing had happened, no one had even been injured yet. And they were making great time, if they kept this up they'd make it back to the Village a day or two early. All they had to do was hunt down one last target, if they were able to do that then they could set back out for home. But nevertheless Itachi just couldn't shake the bad feeling, his thoughts were runned by it, "It's as if something's happening behind my back, as if something wrong is taking place somewhere without my knowledge. But the only place I can think of is the Village. And if there was something going on then there would have been word about it by now...wait, Naruto!"

Itachi's eyes widened, it had to be Naruto, that's all it could be. He always followed his instincts, and his instincts told him something was wrong, but there was no evidence, so it had to be Naruto. No one would speak up if something happened to him because they despise his very existence, so there would be no word.

Itachi increased his pace, the rest of the ANBU increasing their pace as well so as to keep up with him. He had to complete this mission and get back home, fast. Finally the last target was within sight, Itachi closed in, and proceeded to do what was necessary, before turning around and heading back to the Hidden Leaf Village, not intending to slow down until he got home.

* * *

A group of ANBU Black Ops raced from rooftop to rooftop, intent on finding Naruto Uzumaki before any harm came to the young boy. There was one of them in particular that had a personal stake in the task they had been given. He was the leader of the group. He wore the usual ANBU outfit, minus the animal mask, he had his own kind of mask. It covered only the the bottom half of his face, not going higher than the nose. His headband was also arranged in an different than standard position. It was angled down, so as to cover the man's left eye from sight. This man also had lively white hair. His name was Kakashi Hatake, and Naruto Uzumaki was the son of his late Sensei, Minato Namikaze. The boy would not come to any harm, not if he had anything to say about it that is. He was determined to get this done as quickly as possible, so as to guarantee Naruto's safety. He and his squad wouldn't let up, they'd find him, and they'd find him as soon as possible.

* * *

Naruto had packed away all the carrots he had stolen, which weren't too many to be honest. But there was enough of them to stop the hunger pains at least, which was good enough for him. He hesitantly got to his feet after some physical rest, worrying about falling flat on his face. However when he was standing, he didn't feel as much pain as he had when he had sat down about ten, maybe fifteen minutes ago. There was still pain, for sure. However it wasn't so much that he couldn't move without it sending tingles of agony everywhere. He was young, so his body was fragile, that's why that beating had felt like ten. Nevertheless though, Naruto wondered why he felt better after only a dozen or so minutes of rest. However he wasn't able to think it over, because he soon heard a man's voice, and unfortunately, it was slightly familiar. "Now where are those carrots, they said they were over here but...hey, you! You ate them, didn't you!? Why you little snot nosed brat!"

Naruto cursed his luck, "Crap."

Naruto turned to face the shop owner he had stolen from, who was now approaching him, his eyes filled with anger. "Your coming with me, I'm turning you into the Hokage, ya little thief!"

Naruto wasn't liking where this was going. He had only met the Hokage a few times, but he was always very kind to him, and Naruto didn't want to see his face when he was told, that he had been caught stealing. He had to get away, he couldn't be taken to the Hokage, he couldn't face him, he just couldn't.


	7. The Consequences Of Violence

Hey Guys, I recently received a PM from someone who was reading this story, and said person was asking if I was doing the SasuNaru pairing. I've also noticed a few people who have Favorited this story who are fans of the SasuNaru pairing, and one who is a fan of the NaruSaku pairing. Since Romance isn't the main genre I didn't include the pairings I was going to use. But I've been getting attention from the wrong people, when I say that I don't mean it offensively, I just mean some of the people who are reading this story are going to be disappointed. Mainly the SasuNaru fans, as well as the NaruSaku fans. The main pairing in this story is my absolute favorite pairing, and is the only pairing I will write about with Naruto in it, and that is the NaruHina pairing. Besides the fact that I've loved that pairing from the very beginning, I just feel that those two belong together.

There will be other pairings, but I haven't decided them just yet. There is only one other pairing that's set in stone in each and everyone of my stories, and that is the ShikaMari pairing.

So to anyone who was looking for SasuNaru or NaruSaku, I sincerely apologize, but I don't write about those two pairings, and I never will. I don't like those two pairings, I don't like them one bit, so I won't write about them. Once again, I apologize, and I hope anyone who was mislead can forgive me, and continue to read this story.

Now then onto the next chapter, here's the sixth chapter, I hope you all read, enjoy and review.

* * *

Naruto, not wanting to see the look on the Hokage's face when he was told he had stolen from a shop, quickly tried to rush past the shop owner who had him cornered. He was unable to do so, the man blocked his path, and he moved every time Naruto did. So he wouldn't be able to just rush past, so that meant he'd have to get physical once again. "Your not going anywhere ya little monster, come on let's get you to the Hokage!"

The shop owner grabbed a hold of Naruto's left hand, his hand around the young boy's wrist, and tried to pull him along. Naruto resisted for a few seconds, but he was still weak from the beating he had taken less than thirty minutes ago, he couldn't overpower the Man at that current moment in time. So he really didn't think he had any choice, if he wanted to get away he was really going to have to get physical once more. Naruto quickly lashed out with a hard right jab, connecting with the shop owner's gut, causing him to hunch over in pain, while letting out a yelp of pain as well. Naruto then took that chance to run, since the Man's grip was considerably weaker at that moment. He broke free from the shop owner's grasp easily then and rushed off, not wanting to be brought to the Hokage, so he could assign punishment. He raced out of the back alley, turned to his right and just dashed straight forward for several long moments. Before slipping into another back alley, this one thankfully lacked a dead end though.

When the shop owner recovered from Naruto's punch, which took a few moments, he was even angrier. But he was also frightened, he didn't want to get too close to the demon again, lest something even worse happen. So he would have to report this to some Shinobi, and have them apprehend the monster.

* * *

Naruto waited in the back alley he had slipped into after he had gotten away from the shop owner for about fifteen minutes before he thought of leaving. He had been hiding in the back alley because most of them looked quite similar, besides trash that was littered about some of them that is, so all he really had to do was make sure you couldn't see him without entering the alley itself and he would be fine.

Before Naruto could leave the alley though, three Men appeared at the exits to the alley, one blocking the one to Naruto's left, and the other two blocking the one on his right. They all began to approach him, as they did Naruto felt fear and panic rise to the surface. "Who are you guys and what do you want!?"

The one who was standing by himself was the one to speak, "We heard you assaulted one of the Village's shop owners when he tried to apprehend you for stealing from his shop."

That's when Naruto noticed their headbands, they were Ninja, his fear and panic levels went through the roof. His voice became shaky, he was quite frightened. "I...I didn't know what else to do, I had nothing to eat, I would have died if I hadn't taken that food. I promise I won't ever do it again, just please don't take me to the Hokage."

The one who had spoken a moment earlier, spoke once more, a smirk tugging at his lips, ""Oh don't worry, we won't take you to the Hokage, we'll deal out your punishment ourselves, you little demon. You'll get what's coming to you for assaulting one of our kind Villagers."

Naruto felt all the hope he held for getting out of this situation die right there on the spot. He felt tears beginning to well up in his eyes once more, these three were Shinobi, he had no chance against them in a fight. Not to mention he was still weak from his earlier beating, so there was no way this was going to end well.

The three Shinobi continued to advance upon Naruto, and soon enough he was trapped between the three of them. However, he was desperate and scared, and that made him dangerous. When something human or otherwise is cornered, that's when they become deadliest.

Naruto lashed out, he slammed his right fist and his left fist into two of the Shinobi's guts as hard as he could, with even more strength than he could normally summon, since he was so scared. These punches caused both of them to gasp in pain, however they did not hunch over. Naruto didn't notice this, because he spun around to face the third Shinobi. And before the third Shinobi could attack him, Naruto brought his right leg up fast and hard, slamming his shin with a good amount of force into the Ninja's crotch. Which elicited a cry of pain from him before he doubled over in agony. Naruto then took that as his chance to make a break for it, and quickly booked it out of there. However before he could exit the alley, one of the Shinobi had made it to that particular exit, stopping Naruto flat out. Naruto then turned around to get out the other way, however the other Ninja was less than three inches from him, blocking him from going that way as well.

The only upside to the current situation was that the Ninja Naruto had kicked in the balls wouldn't be able to join in on beating the boy for a few minutes. Otherwise the whole situation was pretty bad. Naruto of course realized this, and his tears began to fall once more.

* * *

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow at what he saw, a group of ANBU Black Ops members jumping from rooftop to rooftop, obviously searching for something. They were gone in a matter of seconds, but Shikamaru had seen them, and he couldn't help but be curious as to what they were up to. "I wonder what their searching for, it must be pretty important considering how focused they seemed to be. Eh, none of my concern anyway."

Shikamaru went back to watching clouds with his best friend Choji, not even telling the boy of what he had seen.

* * *

Sasuke rushed past the guards who stood by the entrance of the Uchiha compound, thankfully going unnoticed because he was able to be fast and quiet. He had snuck out of the Uchiha compound because he couldn't stand just sitting around while his best friend was out on the streets, fending for himself with no one around who even gave a damn about him. He had to find him and make sure he was okay, his Father's orders to stay in his room be damned. Once he found Naruto then he would take it one step at a time from there. He didn't know how he was going to help Naruto, all he knew was that he had to try, and he intended to. Sasuke realized he had no clue where Naruto could be, but he was determined to look for him, but it would take a while to cover the whole Village by himself. He would need help, but he knew at least one person who would be willing to help, as well as two others who might be up for it. So that was his first goal, to gather up those people.

That meant his first destination was the Hyuga compound.

* * *

Hinata was still quite upset, she had been in her room ever since the incident with Naruto. Her Mother had gotten her Father to lay off the training for a while, so that she could be alone. She was grateful for that, because she didn't feel up to it at all. Of course Heather had no trouble in convincing her husband, Hiashi, to lay off. But it was even easier since she was six months pregnant, which meant Hiashi was even easier to convince, since he was always so cautious about his wife's health when she was with child. So Hinata would be able to be alone until she felt at least a little better.

That's when a noise pulled Hinata's attention over to her window, she just stared at it for a few moments, before she saw something small hit it and make the same noise. She got off her bed and approached her window, her eyes slightly red from crying. She looked out of her window just in time to see another small object hit it, which she recognized as a pebble. She looked down at who was throwing those pebbles to see Sasuke, she had not talked to the boy very much, and she barely knew anything about him, so she had no clue why he was here. Nevertheless she opened her window so as to see what he wanted. She was on the second floor, so she had to look down at him. "H..hello, S..Sasuke what brings you here?"

Her tone was hushed, knowing that it would be bad if he was caught.

Sasuke wasted no time, "We need to talk, its about Naruto."

Hinata was caught by surprise a little, however she nodded her head and replied, "I..I'll be down i..in a moment."

True to her word Hinata was exiting the main building of the Hyuga compound within a matter of moments, thankfully unnoticed. She made her way over to Sasuke to see what was up. "Yes?"

Sasuke was concerned and in a hurry, so he tried to be as quick as possible. "I know you were there when my Father said Naruto was to be put on the streets, and I know your upset over it. And since your one of the few people who actually care for him, I knew you'd be willing to help me go out into the Village and find him. He's got nowhere to go, and no one to help him, but we could help him, we could find him and make sure he's okay, and then we'll just take it step by step from there. But we have to go and look for him right now, because he's not safe on the streets by himself."

Hinata felt dread consume her, she spoke, her voice shaky, "Wha...what do you mean? H...how is h..he not safe?"

They didn't really have time for questions, "We can talk about that later, right now I need your help to find Naruto."

Hinata was more than just simply curious, she needed to know what he meant. "P..please, just tell me w..why Naruto isn't safe."

Sasuke's facial expression grew grim at that, "Because last time, when it was just me and Naruto out alone on the Village streets, a group of Villagers chased us and tried to hurt Naruto, not me, just Naruto."

Hinata gasped, "W..what!? W..why!?"

She wasn't necessarily loud, there was just a lot of emotion in her voice.

Sasuke's grim expression didn't change as he answered, "I don't know, all I do know is that if we don't hurry up and find Naruto then he could end up getting badly hurt by some of the Villagers."

Hinata understood why they were so pressed for time and nodded her head, and then she followed Sasuke as they raced off deeper into the Village.

There was one more place Sasuke intended to stop by before they began their search for Naruto, such a place was merely a twenty minute walk from here, that meant it was less than a ten minute run.

* * *

Shikamaru stifled a yawn as he stared up at the clouds beside his best friend Choji, his mind at ease, and his body relaxed. However when Shikamaru heard the sound of people coming up the staircase he became slightly alert and sat up, in time to see Sasuke Uchiha and a girl he recognized to be Hinata Hyuga, the girl Naruto usually talked about, come up onto the rooftop he and Choji were on. This was especially strange considering the lack of Naruto's presence. Hinata's eyes were filled with worry, her facial expression one of uncertainty. Sasuke also held worry within his eyes, however his facial expression was very serious, as if he was on a mission. This all had Shikamaru quite curious.

That's when Sasuke spoke, "We need you help."

That really got both Shikamaru's and Choji's attention. Choji put down his chips and paid close attention to Sasuke and Hinata.

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow at Sasuke's request for help, "With what?"

Sasuke knew they didn't really have time to beat around the bush, so he was going to be blunt the whole way through. "Finding Naruto."

Choji quirked an eyebrow at that one, "What do you mean, did he get lost or something?"

"No, and we don't really have time to talk about it, we've gotta find him quickly. All you really need to know is that he's out on the streets alone, and that he's in danger because of that."

Both Shikamaru's and Choji's quirked eyebrows rose higher at that, their curiosities peaked. It was obvious they were wondering what kind of danger Naruto could be in. So Sasuke decided to just be blunt and honest once more, since he had learned from Itachi that it was the best method, at least most of the time anyways. "If we don't get to him first, then some of the Villagers surely will. And last time Naruto was near too many Villagers, and even though I was there, a group of them began chasing him. That's how we ended up here once. Later that day the same group of villagers cornered us, and they intended to beat on Naruto, not event thinking about doing anything to me, only focusing on him. I don't know why, but it seems like everyone hates him, and neither he or I have any clue as to why. So I are you guys gonna help us look for him or not? Because we're running out of time as it is."

Sasuke wasn't happy in the least, anyone could tell that. So his bitter tone wasn't that much of a surprise.

Hinata had to hold back tears as Sasuke spoke, not understanding how anyone could want to do something like that to Naruto, or how anyone could even dislike him. He hadn't ever done anything, yet he was hated, it made no sense to her. She downright idolized him, he refused to give up, he strived to become stronger and he didn't let anything get to him, and he was only five years old. She couldn't understand how anyone could even think about disliking someone like that, especially Naruto himself.

Shikamaru and Choji had similar thoughts to each other on the matter, that it made no sense once so ever that Naruto was hated. They were both worried for their friend, so they refrained from asking anymore questions and nodded their heads, agreeing to help find Naruto.

Sasuke nodded his head and led them all down to the streets, where they all split up and began to look for Naruto.

Sasuke of course couldn't rid himself of thoughts about his family. "Why does Father and everyone else despise Naruto so? It doesn't make any sense. Itachi knows why, but he still refuses to tell me, it's aggravating. What could he be hiding from from me, and Naruto himself for that matter?"

Choji couldn't keep his thoughts clear either, wondering just what was going on with Naruto. Nothing really made sense, so he couldn't bring himself to figure it out.

Hinata's head was clouded with thoughts of Naruto, "Why did this happen to Naruto? Nothing about any of this makes sense! Please Naruto, be okay."

Shikamaru's thoughts were actually quite organized unlike the others's, he was also piecing stuff together in his head. "It makes absolutely zero sense that Naruto is hated so. But Sasuke's claims match up with what I've seen. Naruto avoids being near Villagers, that anyone could notice. Sasuke's claims also back up why they came onto the roof several months ago. And if the whole Village truly despises Naruto, then the Hokage would know about it. Which means he'd probably assign him some protection, but I've never seen anyone with him besides Sasuke and...Itachi. I see Itachi must have been his protection, he must be incapable of protecting Naruto as of the current moment, otherwise he'd be by Naruto's side right now. So the Hokage must have assigned someone different, which could explain the group of ANBU I saw no less than thirty minutes ago."

Shikamaru could feel a migraine coming on, "This is going to be such a drag."

* * *

Thirty minutes, Naruto's beating lasted thirty minutes straight. Five minutes into the beating the third Shinobi had gotten to his feet and had joined in on beating the young boy. So three exhausted Ninja stood around Naruto, as he lay beaten, broken and bloodied. The Shinobi who Naruto had kicked in the pelvis, his breathing ragged, spoke, "That's what you get, don't you ever lay a hand on one of the Villagers again, or next time your punishment will be even worse, you little monster."

The three exhausted Shinobi then left the alley, before anyone caught sight of them. Which was strange indeed, with how much Naruto screamed it was surprising no one had come to see what was going on. Not that it would have mattered, no one would have helped him.

Naruto laid there, curled up into a ball, his whole body in agonizingly horrible pain. His nose was even more messed up than before, more blood than before coming from both nostrils. A decent amount of blood filled Naruto's mouth, some of it leaking from the bottom right and left corners of his mouth, while his face was covered in bruises. The back of his head was busted open as well, blood leaking from it, covering his scalp and hair slowly with blood. His eyes were raw from all the tears also. His abdomen was covered in bumps and bruises, and several of his ribs were broken, he also had a broken arm and a broken leg. On the leg that wasn't broken, his right leg, his knee was badly scraped. Overall he was in critical state.

He couldn't stop crying, or yelping in agony, because every time he took a breath his whole body was wracked with pain. His life was hanging in the balance at that very moment, and he needed someones help.

* * *

Kakashi led his group towards the sound of screaming, they didn't know how long it had been going on, or how long it was going to keep on, all they knew is that whether it was Naruto or not, they needed to see who was in such agony to scream like that. They were coming upon the noise fast, but soon enough it faded. They continued on, going toward where they had heard the noise coming from. And soon enough they came upon a back alley that was empty, except for one person, who was curled up into a ball in the middle of the alley. They were on the ground in a matter of seconds, and racing towards the person. Kakashi was in the lead, so when he came to a stop so did the other ANBU following him. He scowled at the sight of Naruto, the young boy looked like hell.

Naruto peeked out when he heard footsteps, fearing the Ninja had come back. When he saw they hadn't he stared at the ANBU members for several moments, before locking eyes with Kakashi's right eye.

Kakashi got down to his knees as he spoke with a calm and soothing tone, "Don't worry, we're here to help you Naruto. Everything's going to be okay, we'll get you fixed up, I promise."

Naruto could feel a few more tears roll down his face, his lip quivering, as he nodded his head.

Kakashi nodded his head as well, and scooped Naruto up into his arms, eliciting a small whimper off pain from the young boy. He then turned around, a grim look on his face that the rest of his squad had come to recognize even though the bottom half of his face was covered, they nodded their heads and set out. Kakashi then set out, leaping up onto a rooftop, and then beginning to jump from rooftop to rooftop, heading to the hospital as fast as he could. He felt horrible that he hadn't been there to protect Naruto, he spoke aloud, so softly that Naruto couldn't have heard him, "I'm sorry Minato Sensei."

* * *

Sasuke was looking everywhere he thought Naruto would be, at least everywhere he would be in the section of the Village he was searching, but he hadn't found a trace of his presence anywhere. That's when a noise caught Sasuke's attention, he looked up to see a few ANBU members jump from one rooftop to another, making the same noise he had heard a second earlier. Sasuke couldn't help but wonder why there were ANBU out and about so freely, however that thought was lost to him as he saw another ANBU member jump from one rooftop to another, in his arms a severely injured Naruto. Sasuke's eyes widened at the sight, he had to keep himself from calling out to the ANBU member and Naruto upon impulse. He turned around and quickly began making his way back, he had to find Hinata, Shikamaru and Choji and tell them about what he saw, so they could go after Naruto together.

* * *

Itachi hadn't stopped for a break ever since his group had taken care of the last target, he kept running at full speed, dead set on getting back to the Village as soon as possible. He had lost track of his group a few minutes earlier, because they had to stop and take a break, but he couldn't, he couldn't afford to. If he kept at this pace, he'd be back at the Village within twenty minutes at most.

* * *

Within a matter of minutes Kakashi had Naruto at the hospital, being treated on the Hokage's order. Kakashi wasn't going to leave Naruto's side however, he would stay and make sure Naruto was protected from anyone who dared enter the room. He let the rest of his squad head over to the Hokage so as to give him the report on their mission, so the Hokage would be aware of the situation.

As Naruto lay unconscious in his hospital bed, Kakashi sat in a chair in the right corner of the room, the one farthest from his bed, which allowed him the best vantage point. Now no one could enter the room, or move to any spot in the room without being watched. He could watch the window, the door and Naruto all at the same time while just looking straight ahead. He knew what he was doing, and he didn't intend to slack off. Naruto would be protected while he recovered.


End file.
